Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday offered business leaders a brief glimpse of what he is likely to unveil in Orlando on Wednesday as he starts to lay out what he wants lawmakers to do next year on economic development and workforce issues.
Speaking to a group of business leaders in Tallahassee, Scott said he will ask lawmakers this session to continue efforts to streamline regulations and provide additional tax relief to businesses and working families as the state tries to more effectively compete with other states and countries for new business.
Scott didn’t offer any specifics Tuesday. In broad strokes, the governor outlined a series of initiatives that taken together will represent his first economic development package since the creation of the Department of Economic Opportunity, a new agency housed in his office that will assume the duties of the now-defunct Department of Community Affairs and the Agency for Workforce Innovation.
He also re-issued a call for using tolls to pay for new transportation projects across the state, a funding mechanism that would help the state accommodate growth without having to foot the entire construction bill.
Other Scott priorities include port upgrades and improved shipping logistics that Florida can use to take advantage of the expansion of the Panama Canal.
“I got elected on one platform,” Scott told members of the Northeast Area Business Association. “That platform was ‘How do we make sure we create 700,000 jobs in this state over the next seven years?”
Among his initiatives, Scott said he will seek more from recipients of unemployment compensation by more accurately monitoring them to ensure they are seeking work or returning to school.
“If you are going to get paid during the time you are on unemployment, shouldn’t we as taxpayers expect you to spend time on either looking for a job or being trained for a job?” Scott said.
On the education front, Scott reiterated that Florida needs to spend more money on science and technology education to help out high tech industries.
The governor has come under fire from some camps for recent statements in which he said the state should consider reducing funding for traditional liberal arts degrees in areas that are not in high demand among employers.
Earlier this week, in a meeting with a newspaper editorial board, the governor also said he would again push for a phased in cut to the corporate income tax. Lawmakers last year increased the exemption, dropping several corporate taxpayers from the rolls.
Scott is expected to roll out other legislative priorities in the coming days as his office prepares for the 2012 session. Scott will be in Orlando today, where he is expected to provide details of his economic development agenda.
“There is almost zero unemployment in the San Jose-Silicon Valley (California) area for technology right now, and they have lots of graduates,” Scott said. “There is no logical reason that we should not be (the same).”
Rep. Alan Williams (D-Tallahassee) said some of Scott’s ideas have merit, but lawmakers are missing an opportunity if they don’t look at eliminating tax breaks and loopholes that many businesses enjoy. Closing such loopholes would raise revenue instead of relying on spending cuts alone to balance the budget.
“I don’t think he gets there by getting rid of anthropology and creating new toll roads,” Williams said following Scott’s speech.