Florida Legislature opens annual session

It’s a busy day in Florida’s capital as Gov. Rick Scott is delivering his 2016 State of the State address today, the first day lawmakers are back in Tallahassee to kick off the legislative session.

Scott made no mention, however, of one of the most controversial topics the Legislature will wrestle with this year: whether to allow open carry in Florida and allowing guns on college campuses. He also is expected to make a push to set aside tens of millions to lure new companies to Florida. We all want quality job growth. In a speech that lasted about 30 minutes, Scott credited his pro-business policies with creating one million jobs in the state under his watch.

Governor Rick Scott is pushing his $1 billion in tax cuts for business to try and create more jobs for the state of Florida. Specifically, lawmakers will explore whether to allow craps and roulette to be offered at Seminole-run casinos for the first time, whether new slots casinos should be allowed in South Florida and what, if anything, should be done to help horse racing, dog racing and other parimutuels businesses that could be at a competitive disadvantage if gambling options expand.

Scott will take his message of job creation on the road tomorrow, with his “Million Miles for a Million Jobs” bus tour, starting in Orlando with stops in Tampa and Sunrise. “We’ve worked with him to create that climate”.

He also wants the process for project authorization streamlined by having the House Speaker and Senate President approve any deal requiring more than $1 million, thus “eliminating the need to schedule special committee meetings”.

But Scott may face some obstacles in getting those cuts, with many Democrats saying he needs to do more to help average Floridians.

This is similar to a claim we fact-checked in October from Scott, who said, “We have the highest funding in (the) K-12 system in the history of the state”. Per-pupil spending was still below historic dollar totals and remains far below comparable levels when adjusted for inflation.

After a rough-and-tumble year of disagreement, the Florida Legislature returns to the Capitol Tuesday for its annual two-month legislative session. But it comes with an important caveat: the majority of the extra funding would come through local property taxes – not state coffers.

“If we keep reducing taxes…we get more companies and jobs in our state”, Scott told the panel.

“With record state revenues, we have the opportunity to diversify our economy and help our small businesses grow by cutting taxes by $1 billion dollars”, Scott said. He already launched a $1 million television advertising campaign promoting the tax cuts to coincide with the beginning of the session. Gardiner promised tax cuts, but did not commit to a specific amount.