Groundhog day

It’s been a while since Punxsutawney Phil reportedly sawhis own shadow earlier this month, but it looks like the Capitol is still in for at least six more weeks of fights over Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida.

The latest volley began Monday, when Speaker Richard Corcoran, RLand O’ Lakes, said hewas willing to allow Visit Florida to remain alive, as long as it lost two-thirds of its funding and subscribed to a list of conditions.

Corcoran’s offerwas to amend a bill (HB 7005) that seeks to abolish Enterprise Florida, the state’s business-recruitment agency, and Visit Florida, its tourism-marketing arm.

The a mendment would place new requirements on Visit Florida, which would receive $25 million in the budget year that begins July 1 if it agrees to what Corcoran’s office described as “accountability and transparency measures.”

Gov. Rick Scott seeks $85 million that would go to Enterprise Florida for business-recruitment incentives and $76 million thatwould go to Visit Florida.

Scott spokeswoman Jackie Schutz said Scott has already been working on changes at Visit Florida, including a change in leadership.

“More than amillion Florida families rely on jobs in our tourism industry and are threatened with this massive cut,” Schutz said in a statement. “Unfortunately, some politicians in the Florida House think fighting for jobs is simply hysteria and don’t understand that jobs are not expendable to families who have to put food on the table.”

Nonetheless, the House Appropriations Committee voted 18-12 to approve the measure and send it to the House floor.