The progress of all financial incentive packages awarded to private companies by the state, deals often cloaked in secrecy even after the agreements are announced, would have to be posted online under a bill backed unanimously Tuesday by the House Transportation and Economic Development Subcommittee.
Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D-Miami Beach, said his legislation (HB 563) requires the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to annually publish detailed information on the progress of each incentive program.
“It would be for any tax refunds, tax rebates, tax exemptions and outright grants,” said Rodriguez.
More information about the deals would have to go online after contracts expire.
The bill has now gotten the support of two House committees.
The state paid out nearly $27 million in job creation incentives to 103 companies last year through its different incentive programs: Qualified Target Industry Program, Qualified Defense and Space Contractors Program, Brownfield Bonus Program, Manufacturing and Spaceport Investment Incentive, High Impact Performance Incentive, Quick Action Closing Fund, Innovation Incentive Program and the Quick Response Training Program.
The state has been under intense pressure to detail the different economic incentive programs since the failure of Digital Domain Media Group, a visual effects company in Port St. Lucie that had been awarded $20 million in 2009.
The legislation, backed by Enterprise Florida and the Florida Economic Development Council, does not target vendor contracts.
