Governor Rick Scott vetoed more than $10 million worth of North Florida projects.
Gadsden county lost money for its faith-based jail re-entry program, and Wakulla County won’t get funding for a St. Marks river boardwalk, nor a lighthouse restoration. But some local projects did manage to survive.
Florida A&M University managed to escape a veto. The legislature funded and Scott approved dollars for FAMU to finish off its newest pharmacy building, and start planning for a new student affairs center.
“We made our priorities his priorities and we tied our goals to his goals," said FAMU lobbyist Tola Thompson. "We showed how what we were asking for would help move the needle forward and to help improve the state and get kids through more effectively, and get them from freshman year to jobs.”
Florida State University was able to secure funding to begin building a new atmospheric and oceanographic research center, but saw its plan to grow its medical school get struck down. Tallahassee Community College also lost out on money for its environmental institute in Wakulla.
“But the Governor has a tough job," said TCC President Jim Murdaugh. "And a whole lot of things were happening. He’s been very supportive of everything that we’ve done, and continues to be supportive. Would we have been able to do some good with the money? Certainly we would have. But I understand and respect his decision.”
Scott struck a plan to convert Frenchtown’s historic Taylor House into a museum, along with funding for some local water projects.
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Breaking: Governor Rick Scott has vetoed $500 million in projects in the 2015-2016 budget. That includes vetoes to projects at Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College.
FSU's medical school extension for physician training in rural and underserved areas and Rural Primary Care Residency Program's fell to vetoes.
Lawmakers had also put $1.23 million in the budget for Tallahassee Community College's Wakulla Environmental Institute--but the money was stricken by Gov. Scott.
Local Vetoes:
- Gadsden County Jail Faith Behind Bars Re-Entry Program $200,00
- Leon County Centerville Trace Target Area Project $250,000
- Lake Hamilton US 27 Wastewater Project $300,000
- Tallahassee Lower Central Drainage Ditch Erosion Control Phase 1 $409,620
- Orchard Pond Parkway Trail – Leon $400,000
- St. Marks River Boardwalk 200,000
- Camp Gordon Johnston Museum $500,000
- Tallahassee Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team Equipment 495,000
- Capital Region YMCA Family Recreational Complex $75,000
- Special Categories - Transfer For Operations - Florida Catastrophic Storm
- Risk Management Center At Florida State University 1,500,000
- Restoration of St. Marks Lighthouse-Wakulla 250,000
- Jake Gaither House Museum 125,000
- Bethel Empowerment Foundation Reentry Program $400,000
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