Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal to set aside $300 million of Florida taxpayers’ money for use at his discretion to attract businesses, so far, has met with cool reception in the Legislature, especially in the Florida Senate.
On Thursday, Senate President Mike Haridopolos said the current system of requiring the governor to go through the Legislative Budget Commission (LBC) before awarding significant financial incentives works well.
“The constitution is pretty clear,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll keep that check and balance.”
The Senate president’s comments mirror that of his budget chief, Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, who has been critical of the governor on recent sales of the state planes, which Alexander argued need to be approved by lawmakers.
That said, Alexander said the chamber is willing to help create jobs.
“I’m sure we’ll do something,” Alexander said of the incentive package. “I would expect that we would use the same sort of approval mechanisms we’ve used in the past, which means they bring things to the LBC for final approval, but I don’t think any of us want to do anything to slow down the addition of jobs.”
The Senate has proposed setting aside at least $150 million for economic development projects.
News Service of Florida
