Gov. Rick Scott's proposal to expand corporate tax exemptions touched off a partisan fight on the House floor Tuesday, with Republicans linking the extra tax breaks to nonunion businesses.
Democrats filed a series of politically tinged amendments aimed at placing conditions on the exemptions. For example, Democrats proposed offering the extra breaks to businesses that provide health insurance benefits to employees' spouses and domestic partners, provide contraceptive coverage in insurance policies and do not discriminate against hiring veterans.
But Majority Leader Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami, repeatedly trumped the Democrats. With the backing of Republican lawmakers, he replaced the Democratic amendments with language that said the additional exemptions would be available to businesses that submit proof that "none of the taxpayer's employees are members of a labor organization.''
Lopez-Cantera argued that states with less unionization have lower unemployment.
"My intent is to create an environment in this state that attracts jobs and not kill them,'' he said.
But Democrats repeatedly blasted his arguments. "So Disney's not a job creator?" Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando, asked, saying Walt Disney World has thousands of unionized workers. "So FP&L is not a job creator either?"
The back-and-forth dominated discussion of a wide-ranging economic package that includes Scott's proposal for increasing the corporate-income tax exemption from $25,000 to $50,000.
House Finance and Tax Chairman Steve Precourt, R-Orlando, said the proposal would leave about 11,000 corporations paying the income tax. Scott campaigned in 2010 on ultimately eliminating the tax, and lawmakers approved a $25,000 exemption last year.
The House is expected to vote on the package Wednesday.
While nixing most Democratic ideas, the Republican majority went along with a proposal by Rep. Richard Steinberg, D-Miami Beach, that would only allow the tax exemptions for corporations that give assurances they do not do business with Syria, Iran, Sudan and Cuba.
But much of the debate about the bill was testy, as Democrats brought up amendments and Lopez-Cantera repeatedly inserted the nonunion language.
"Let's send a message that Representative Lopez-Cantera can't hijack the system," Randolph said at one point.
At the end of the debate, Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, sent a quick message. "Members, enough theater," he said.