Gov. Rick Scott seems willing and ready to brandish his veto pen and slash through proposed cuts to Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida after state lawmakers threatened to drastically reduce funding for his twin pride and joy economic agencies -- but state lawmakers are fully prepared to fight back.
Scott’s comments come on the heels of budget negotiations which would gut funding for the state’s tourism agency, Visit Florida, from $75 million to $25 million.
The governor, who is currently on a trade mission in Argentina, trashed lawmakers supporting the current proposal, one of the first possible signs he will veto that portion of the budget, if not the entire budget itself.
“Lawmakers cannot be shortsighted at the expense of Florida families by cutting funds for tourism marketing and economic development,” Scott said in a statement released Wednesday. “I would be absolutely shocked if politicians in the Florida Legislature put their self-interests before the interests of our families and small businesses.”
Scott added funding the two agencies would hardly make a dent in the state budget since they only account for .24 percent of overall state funding.
Despite the small amount Scott says Florida has to invest in the programs, the consequences of gutting them entirely, he explained, could be costly.
“Reducing this funding will have a significant impact on state, county, city, and local tourism and economic development boards' revenues by hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said.
Earlier this week, Scott sent his chief bond officer, Ben Watkins, to pen a letter to state lawmakers, warning them of the effects of cutting Visit Florida.
In the letter, Watkins says even a two percent reduction in visitors would result in a loss of $2.2 billion in travel spending and $225 million in tax revenue.
“Other states that do not rely on tourism as much as our state have reduced or eliminated their tourist development efforts and have experienced drastic losses as a result,” Watkins wrote to House Appropriations Chair Rep. Carlos Trujillo and Senate Budget Chair Jack Latvala.
Watkins also said the state’s bond rating and credit rating would be negatively impacted if state legislators approved the plan to trim Visit Florida’s budget.
Not all is lost for Scott however -- he still has options when it comes to the state budget.
The governor could go one of two ways with the budget -- he could either line-item veto legislators’ budget proposal for both agencies or ax the budget entirely, the latter as the more likely move.
It’s unlikely, however, that senators and state reps would let the veto last for too long, though -- cutting Enterprise Florida and slashing Visit Florida’s budget have been some of the top priorities for lawmakers during this year’s legislative session, especially in the House of Representatives
House Speaker Richard Corcoran has led the charge against the programs, slamming them for wasting taxpayer money and for representing “corporate welfare” in the Sunshine State.
If Scott vetoed cuts to EFI/Visit Florida and the budget, lawmakers could take a more drastic route and override the governor’s vetoes entirely in a special session, a move widely expected to transpire this summer.
Republicans control both the House and the Senate. In the House, Republicans outnumber Democrats by 79-41. They also control the Senate by a 24-15 margin.
In order to swing a veto-proof majority, Corcoran will need to convince Democrats to hop onboard with the veto override.
The last time state legislators overrode gubernatorial vetoes was in 2012 under former Gov. Charlie Crist.
A veto override would be a climactic ending to a contentious session over EFI/Visit Florida, undoubtedly causing further strain between Corcoran and Scott, whose long-running loathing for each other has seeped through negotiations during this year's legislative session.
Sunshine State News contacted Corcoran's office for comment but had not received a response at the time of this article's release.
The legislative session ends May 5.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
