Several groups have been lobbying Governor Rick Scott for weeks to either sign or veto an energy bill. But, as Sascha Cordner reports, the Governor took the third option, which was to allow the bill to become law without his official stamp of approval.
The bill had the backing of Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and widespread bi-partisan support among the Florida Legislature with 156 out of 160 lawmakers voting in favor of the bill.
And, on Friday, Governor Rick Scott said out of respect to his fellow cabinet member Putnam as well as the bill’s sponsors, he would allow the measure to become law.
The only catch is he didn’t sign it. That means the bill will become law, just without Scott’s signature.
Supporters of the 18-part bill say the measure could offer millions in technology-agnostic tax credits to businesses that demonstrate an investment in any form of renewable energy production and create jobs in Florida. They say the market will then determine how investments are made.
But, in a letter, Scott expressed concerns over whether Floridians would receive a return on those tax credits. Scott says if the bill does not produce the outcome he’s looking for on a trial basis, then he’ll request a repeal.
And, energy bill sponsor, Republican Representative Scott Plakon says he agrees with the Governor:
“I would argue that we should do that with all the different tax credits we have throughout state Government, that year by year that we should be looking very closely. And if it doesn’t measure up and it’s not good for the citizens of Florida, then we should either repeal or modify it. But, we’ve put this into place now. And, we’ll find out over the next year the effectiveness of it, and we’ll be watching it year by year.”
Plakon also says it’s a big win for the state of Florida that Scott decided to give the energy legislation a chance.
“It puts our state on the path towards a little bit more diversity towards our energy resources and also sends a strong message that we’re open to these types of ideas. However, the way we did it was without raising rates and I think working together going into next year, this will be something that will be very meaningful towards fulfilling our energy needs in the future.”
But, not everyone is happy about the energy measure becoming law, including Slade O’Brien. He’s the President of Tea Party activist group, Americans for Prosperity’s Florida Chapter. O’Brien says while he’s disappointed the bill became law, it’s a slight victory that the Governor did not give his official stamp of approval with his signature.
“He clearly heard our message; however, I wished he had gone a step further and been a bit more bold, but it’s a little bit of a victory, but not a big victory, by any stretch of the imagination.”
In the last few weeks leading up to Scott’s action on the bill, hundreds of Tea Party activists have been calling and e-mailing the Governor’s office, urging Scott to veto the energy bill. O’Brien says the measure picks winners and losers by bankrolling politically-favored energy companies with up to 100-million dollars in tax credits. O’Brien says that’s a waste of taxpayer dollars.
“So, we thought it was a bad bill. We thought it was a great opportunity for the Governor to send a message to the legislature that this is not the right way to attract businesses to the state. What we need to do is provide a competitive environment across the board for all organizations and industries to come in, rather than a select few or those that have political favor.”
The new law goes into effect July 1st of this year.
