There could be more scrutiny when it comes to raising taxes statewide.
Speaking in Jacksonville on Tuesday, Gov. Rick Scott announced plans to introduce legislation next year that would halt “unfair” tax increases at the state level unless approved by a super majority in the Florida Legislature.
His visit to Drummond Press in West Jacksonville was the second stop on his announcement tour.
He was joined by Mayor Lenny Curry, House Speaker Richard Corcoran, state Rep. Clay Yarborough and state Sen. Travis Hutson, all Republicans.
Scott declined to say how that legislation would be structured, other than he would work with Corcoran, Senate President Joe Negron and the Constitutional Revision Commission to make it happen.
He said he’d like to see a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2018.
“As the economy grows, you shouldn’t be raising taxes, you should be lowering taxes because you collect more revenue,” Scott said, who argued that since more people are moving to the state, the government needs to be more efficient.
“You have to do it in your family, you have to do it in your business, you should do it in government,” he said.
Standing next to the governor, Curry said he supports the idea of “making it harder for politicians to impose new taxes and fees on the people.”
Curry said he doesn’t foresee a similar measure adopted at the local level.
Yarborough: ‘Period of adjustment’ on incentives
Both Corcoran and Yarborough, who represent most of South Jacksonville, talked about changes the Legislature made this year regarding financial incentives for businesses in exchange for jobs and capital investment.
After a three-day special legislative session in June, an $85 million Florida Job Growth Grant Fund was approved to replace the state’s incentives structure.
The new fund can be used only to pay for public infrastructure and workforce training, something Corcoran said business recruitment agencies have embraced.
There’s been some confusion from business recruitment groups on how the changes may affect their ability to lure companies to the state.
“I’ve talked to all of them and they’re ecstatic about where we ended up,” Corcoran said of the groups.
Corcoran was instrumental in those changes and the key opponent to Scott’s $85 million funding proposal for the state’s public-private business recruitment agency, Enterprise Florida Inc.
“What we said was no more picking winners and losers, no more corporate welfare,” Corcoran said.
Yarborough said that while there’s a “period of adjustment,” the result creates more accountability for taxpayers.
“It is better in that regard,” he said. “Instead of just saying, ‘here’s a blank check Mr. Amazon or this company or that company.’
“At least you have specifics they’re going to have to meet and thresholds they’ll have to meet to get that money,” Yarborough said.
In addition to its ongoing work reviewing the mayor’s 2017-18 budget, the City Council Finance Committee held its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday.
It looked at $147,276 requested by the mayor’s office to continue repairs at the Jacksonville Fire Museum next to Metropolitan Park.
Council members Reggie Brown and Danny Becton questioned the need for the repairs because the park property is being evaluated for redevelopment by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan.
Tom Fallin, city chief of engineering and construction management, said the money will continue the restoration of the museum and will go toward structural repairs.
“This will enable the museum, which is currently closed, to reopen to the public,” Fallin told the committee.
Fallin said he was unaware of plans to include the museum in the riverfront development, and that any relocation still would require the investment to repair the building.
The bill moved though the committee with unanimous support and will come up for a vote at the council meeting Tuesday.
Construction crews have begun repairing the bulkhead at River Road in San Marco, described by city engineering chief Tom Fallin as the worst-kept bulkhead in the city.
The bulkhead was damaged during Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and has been fenced off from public use since then.
The $2.6 million project is funded partially through this fiscal year, with City Council approving roughly $2 million in May to begin construction.
Another $600,000 is being reviewed as part of the mayor’s Capital Improvement Program.
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