With CEO Bill Johnson announcing he is leaving, Americans for Prosperity’s (AFP) Florida chapter has a simple message for Gov. Rick Scott as he looks to reform Enterprise Florida: audit it.
AFP played a leading role in defeating Scott’s proposal for an additional $250 million annually in additional funding for Enterprise Florida to help lure businesses to the Sunshine State. Despite Republican majorities in both chambers of the Legislature, no additional funding was provided
“Just as Florida families and businesses have had to cope over the last decade to do more with less, so too should non essential government agencies,” said Chris Hudson, AFP’s director in Florida, on Tuesday. “While our critics will paint this as a lost opportunity, the fact remains that this frees up lawmakers to better fund our state’s real infrastructure needs. It’s past time for the business-as-usual taxpayer handouts to end.”
Despite opposing the governor on providing Enterprise Florida with additional funds, Hudson praised Scott on Tuesday.
“Gov. Scott and principled lawmakers have helped turn Florida’s economic landscape around by focusing on tax cuts, eliminating burdensome regulations, and should double down on those strategies,” Hudson said. “He said it best in his State of the State address in 2015, ‘Taxpayers are the best investors of their dollars’ and I believe that by continuing to focus on good stewardship and positive reforms that Florida will continue to lead the nation in job growth and economic prosperity.”
For his part, Scott called for changes to Enterprise Florida this week in a memo to board members of that organization.
“The Florida Legislature sent a clear signal this year that they do not want to fund competitive economic development incentive programs,” Scott noted. “With the zeroing out of the Quick Action Closing Fund, which is our state’s competitive incentive program for recruiting companies to Florida over other states, Enterprise Florida is left only to manage statutory incentive programs that operate largely off of objective, as compared to competitive, criteria.
“Clearly, we have no choice but to refocus the efforts and mission of Enterprise Florida,” Scott added. “Like you, I am a relentless advocate for more job creation in our state. I remember when my father’s car was repossessed when I was a child. I remember what holidays were like when my father was unemployed. I don’t want any family to ever suffer without a job. That is why I ran for governor in 2010 and again for reelection in 2014. In the four years prior to my first election, Florida lost more than 832,000 jobs and home prices dropped by nearly 50 percent.
“I want us to do everything we can to make sure our state doesn’t ever again see the job loss we experienced during the four years before I became governor,” Scott continued. “We have to make the hard decisions now to do more with less and privatize many functions at Enterprise Florida so we are not dependent on state financing.”
Scott noted he had turned to former state Department of Children and Families Sec. David Wilkins to help provide solutions for Enterprise Florida.
“David Wilkins has experience in both the public and private sectors where he served in numerous leadership roles at Accenture, and served as the secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families,” Scott wrote. “Specifically, I have asked him to identify a target of $6 million in savings from state funding. Currently, EFI has an over $9 million payroll (for around 90 staffers) and pays millions more each year for office space across the state of Florida and the world. Because EFI must do more with less due to the loss of our competitive incentive program, the agency will be forced to become smaller and more streamlined. A full review of existing state funds and their use with the intention to produce cost savings will help us get more use out of the taxpayer dollars we have now, and, where possible, repurpose state funding to job creation and away from overhead.
“Second, I would like us all to consider current EFI roles that could run entirely from a private sector entity that does not depend on state funding,” Scott continued. “Today, only around $1.6 million in EFI funding is from private donors, with the remaining over $23 million coming from state funds. Without the need for EFI staff to review projects for the subjective competitive program funding, I would like your thoughts on whether any existing Enterprise Florida functions would be better performed by a separate entity that does not depend on state funds.”
Scott called for these topics to be addressed at EFI’s May board meeting when Wilkins will offer a “preliminary report on his thoughts on the functions Enterprise Florida should perform going forward without the Quick Action Closing Fund and how we can streamline state funds and services."
The governor also opened the door to bring in more private sector involvement.
“I would like us all to discuss our ideas for what current EFI functions could be better handled by an outside group that would not need to rely on public funding," Scott noted. “There is no doubt in my mind that the loss of our competitive incentive program will forever change the face of economic development in our state. While we cannot expect to win competitive projects under which cities compete for jobs as a result of corporate and regional office relocations and plant expansions and relocations, we can promote our low tax environment, our low regulatory environment, our results-based education system, our investments in our ports, our 44 year low crime rate, and our geographic location. Additionally, it will now be much more important that our universities and state colleges graduate students in high-demand job fields and entrepreneurs who want to build the next Google, Apple or Facebook. It is also my understanding that some counties are considering increasing their taxes to generate economic development funding for the purposes of providing incentive funds to competitive jobs projects from the local level.
“However, it is up to us to proactively take steps to position Florida to continue competing for and winning jobs,” Scott wrote in conclusion. “I believe the weeks and months ahead will be filled with critical decision-making, but we must succeed in the end so individuals like my father don’t experience devastating job losses as they did in our state less than a decade ago. If we work together, Florida will be the number one state for job creation not just this year, but for decades to come.”
Johnson, who took over at Enterprise Florida at the beginning of last year, announced his resignation this week and will transition out of his current role. Scott has not named a replacement yet.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
