Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday he will likely propose changes to the law in response to reports of corruption at the state’s 24 regional workforce boards, though he didn’t elaborate on what kind of legislation he’d like to see.
But Scott, in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel editorial board on Thursday, and in a speech on Wednesday evening in Jacksonville, made it clear he is troubled by reports of questionable spending and of board members and their families getting contracts with the boards. The controversy has led to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.
“They need more transparency, they should not have any conflicts, they need better measurements,” Scott said. Asked if he envisioned proposing changes, Scott replied, “yes I do.”
A spokesman for Scott didn’t respond to a request for comment on what his proposal might be.
The governor also criticized the boards during a speech at the Workforce Florida Board of Directors dinner in Jacksonville on Wednesday.
Earlier this week it was reported by the Sentinel that workforce boards have approved contracts without bids and that board members may have voted on contracts that they were awarded, and in some cases not disclosed it. A state audit found that from 2008 to 2010 the workforce boards handed out more than $7.5 million in contracts to companies controlled by or linked to their board members.
The boards’ members are allowed under the law to compete for agency business, but auditors found many of the deals failed to meet certain legal requirements for the bids, and for disclosure related to those bids.
“If they are in a position that holds a conflict of interest, then they need to resign,” Scott said at Wednesday night’s dinner, according to the Florida Times-Union.
Workforce boards get more than $250 million a year in federal money and are supposed to help workers get training and link up with employers looking for workers.
Workforce Central Florida was also criticized earlier this year for a marketing campaign called “Cape-A-Bility,” in which it gave 6,000 red superhero capes to the unemployed.
An audit found that campaign spent thousands of dollars and didn’t accomplish anything, other than providing capes to people looking for work.
“We have 900,000 people out of work,” Scott said Thursday in Orlando. “They ought to be more focused on helping people get jobs.”
By David Royse
