Sen. Altman Calls Gov. Scott's High-Speed Rail Claims 'Misinformation'

Sen. Thad Altman, R-Melbourne, unleashed a scathing attack on Gov. Rick Scott Monday after it was announced that the $2.4 billion in high-speed rail funds he rejected is being dispersed among 15 other states.

Altman, who joined Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, in a lawsuit designed to block Scott from rejecting the funds earlier this year, said he "misled the people of Florida" by claiming the rejected money helped a deadlocked Congress reach a budget deal.

This action proves again the governor misled the people of Florida by claiming the $2.4 billion he turned back to the federal government helped reduce the federal budget. This series of events proves the governor is either intentionally deceiving the people of Florida or has been malfeasant in his duty to faithfully implement the law," Altman said.

In rejecting the funds, Scott relied on a report from the Reason Foundation, a California-based Libertarian think tank, which stated that the project could entail cost overruns of $3 billion, and would likely be subsidized because ridership estimates were overly optimistic. But proponents of high-speed rail pointed to a Department of Transportation report projecting net surpluses in the first years of operation.

First, the governor claims that the rail will have cost overruns, and then a study from the Florida Department of Transportation is released showing a $10 million surplus in the first year of operation. Next, his own legal counsel admitted to misleading the Florida Supreme Court in a hearing regarding the governors refusal to fund high-speed rail. What we are seeing is a pattern of misinformation," Altman said.