Stick to thrift, watchdog warns Florida legislators
With the state legislative session behind us, Floridians can feel pretty good about their efforts to push state government in a more responsible direction. Because hundreds of thousands made their voices heard through calls and visits to legislators, Florida taxpayers will keep more of their hardearned money while wasteful government spending will be cut significantly.
Among the wins this session is a reduction in sales tax on commercial leases from 6 percent to 5.8 percent, amounting to more than $60 million in annual savings, and a $500 million buy-back of property taxes. In addition, pending the results of a referendum, homeowners will be able to keep more money in their pockets thanks to an increase in the homestead property-tax exemption, translating to a $645 million taxpayer saving.
There were also important investments in education and innovation. These include expanding the Gardiner Scholarship Education Savings Account, which will give families greater ownership of their education tax dollars, and legislation passed to ensure that popular ridesharing services will continue to operate and provide consumers with greater choice on how to get around.
Florida legislators also made hugely important changes to our state’s pension system. Although special interests strongly objected, newly hired public employees will now be placed in a defined contribution system if they fail to choose a retirement option within six months of being hired.
Corporate cronyism also went to the chopping block with the defunding of cash incentives for Enterprise Florida, a government program that rewarded well-connected business owners with generous taxpayer subsidies in the guise of creating jobs for our state — jobs that often never materialized as promised. In its place, Gov. Rick Scott and lawmakers created the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund that will be used only for projects benefiting the general public, such as roads, bridges, tunnels, water supply, sewers and telecommunication facilities.
This is a marked improvement from Enterprise Florida, a textbook example of corporate welfare in which the government picked winners and losers by giving away our hardearned tax dollars to businesses and special interests. But like any government program, Florida Job Growth Grant Fund will require oversight to ensure that it doesn’t fall victim to waste, fraud and abuse.
Scott and the House and Senate leadership in Tallahassee deserve a lot of credit for standing up to the powerful special-interest groups that opposed many of these positive reforms. But we must all remember that while many of these victories are impressive, in politics, nothing is permanent. So, we must remain vigilant. That’s why Americans for Prosperity will continue fighting each and every day to lower taxes, reduce government regulation, and create economic prosperity for everyone. Our activists understand the fastest way to Nanny State big government is through a complacent citizenry. We intend to hold our elected officials accountable and make sure they keep their promises to Florida taxpayers. What’s more, we plan to build upon the most recent legislative successes to fight for even bolder legislation that will create more jobs and economic opportunity for the Sunshine State.
Our activists understand the fastest way to Nanny State big government is through a complacent citizenry.