One of the biggest fights in Tallahassee is over Enterprise Florida and its funding. While most of the attention is on the showdown between Gov. Rick Scott and state House Speaker Richard Corcoran, other voices on the right are also weighing in on the battle over Enterprise Florida and what’s at stake as the legislative session continues.
Some fiscal watchdogs and conservative groups agree Enterprise Florida is far from perfect and needs major reforming but that does not mean they want it eliminated.
Dominic Calabro, the president & CEO of Florida TaxWatch, says Enterprise Florida should be scrutinized but abolishing it is a little too much. Calabro told Sunshine State News Enterprise Florida is something of a necessity.
“It’s like this,” Calabro said. “Nobody wants to use nuclear weapons, but we have them around in case we ever need to use them.”
Over the years, Calabro has been a critic of many tax incentive programs and benefits the state has used to attract business. Calabro told SSN that Enterprise Florida should limit its use of tax incentives in the future.
Barney Bishop, a longtime leader of the business community in Tallahassee, agrees with that assessment.
“Is there a problem with Enterprise Florida?” Bishop says. “Yes, but we cannot unilaterally disarm when competing against other states for business.”
Bishop says the Sunshine State needs to grow small business already located in Florida while the Legislature needs to work with Enterprise Florida in focusing on companies already based here, instead of trying to lure big businesses into the state. While he is a proponent of keeping Enterprise Florida, Bishop hopes the current debate moves toward spotlighting its successes and failures so it can be improved.
Last year, the Legislature rejected Scott's call for $250 million dollars for Enterprise Florida to focus on targeting businesses to move to Florida. In his current budget proposal, Scott adjusted that number downward to $85 million. So far, it doesn’t look like the governor will get what he wants out of Corcoran and the House. Earlier this month, the Florida House overwhelmingly backed a bill that would abolish Enterprise Florida.
Opponents of Enterprise Florida aren’t showing signs of backing down or accepting a compromise. Bob White, the state chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus, has been in Tallahassee urging legislators not to soften their views or compromise when it comes to eliminating the governor's favorite agency.
Sunshine State News asked White how his group would react if the sides could find a compromise.
“Depends on the compromise and what the tradeoff would be,” White said. “We trust Richard Corcoran to do the right thing.”
Asked if he would consider it a victory if Scott’s proposal was cut from $85 million to $55 million, White said no.
Alex Snitker, the president of the Florida Liberty First Network, sees things a little bit differently. While Snitker and his group have been outspoken opponents of Enterprise Florida, he said if Scott’s proposal was cut in half, “that would be a victory” and insisted the current debate shows fiscal conservatives are gaining momentum in Tallahassee. Snitker made it clear he was no fan of Enterprise Florida.
“Enterprise Florida’s term ‘economic incentives’ is misleading,” Snitker told SSN. “It’s a corporate welfare policy of granting special privileges to selected, hand-picked companies.”
The state chapter of Americans For Prosperity (AFP) is fully behind eliminating Enterprise Florida. AFP’s Florida Communications Director Andre Malave told SSN his group backed a full elimination of Enterprise Florida.
“Florida voters need to be educated on the failure of this program,” Malave said.
Asked what his group will do if Corcoran and his allies fail to eliminate Enterprise Florida, Malave said AFP would not back down.
“If Enterprise Florida is allowed to exist, then we (AFP) will continue to educate voters on which lawmakers chose corporate welfare over the immediate needs of the citizens,” he said.
Reach Ed Dean, senior editor at Sunshine State News, at ed@sunshinestatenews.com
