Gov. Scott calls for $250M program to lure new jobs
Gov. Rick Scott called Thursday for reform of Florida’s incentive program for economic development to attract businesses to the state, including a new $250 million fund.
“I will ask the Legislature to make for major reforms to fix the broken and almost bankrupt Quick Action Closing Fund,” Scott said. “First I will ask the Legislature to create a new $250 million Florida Enterprise Fund. I’ll call it the ‘Let’s beat Texas fund.’ ”
Scott’s proposal seeks to defuse criticism of the current incentive programs, called the Florida Enterprise Fund and the Quick Action Closing Fund. Some Republican lawmakers say the current system wastes money because funds are held in an escrow account that is not earning interest. They favor a ‘pay as you go’ system.
Legislators had little response on Thursday.
A spokeswoman for Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, said he spoke with Scott and “that he was looking forward to reviewing the governor’s proposal in more detail in the coming weeks.”
The most outspoken critic of the fund, state Sen. Jack Latvala, R-St. Petersburg, texted in response to questions Thursday: “No reaction.”
Latvala grilled Enterprise Florida CEO Bill Johnson during a meeting Tuesday over the amount of funds his organization has in escrow.
The state appropriated $43 million for the incentive program in the current fiscal year, and about $35 million had been committed by September, leaving little remaining funds for new projects, according to Enterprise Florida.
Scott’s proposal would make the Florida Enterprise Fund a new trust fund, instead of using an escrow account. The incentive fund dollars will remain untouched in the state treasury until companies under job creation contracts meet their job requirements.
This will allow the state’s investment to accrue more interest than the current escrow account.
Scott made the announcement at a board meeting in Orlando for Enterprise Florida Inc., the state’s economic development agency.
He also called for a faster way to approve Quick Action Fund incentives, when a company is getting ready to relocate and seeks more than $1 million, by getting signatures only from the governor, the House speaker and Senate president — rather than sending the proposed deal to a committee. Finally, Scott says he wants to require a 10 percent annualized return on top of the original amount invested in a company, but he didn’t provide details on how that would be measured or ensured.
The fund only pays out when companies actually create the jobs they promise to bring to the state, and make investments in building new or renovating older facilities.
Technology companies are “moving out of the high-tech states” like New York and Massachusetts, Scott said.
“We’re on the cusp of getting all the regional offices, all the corporate offices, when they’re going to move. We can win. But we can’t win if we don’t have the tools,” Scott said.