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Bousquet: Before vetoes, Gov. Rick Scott says he will listen

 
Florida Gov. Rick Scott answers questions after a news conference Monday at Kobie Marketing in St Petersburg. Kobie's CFO Ashby Green is on right. [CHERIE DIEZ   |   Times]
Florida Gov. Rick Scott answers questions after a news conference Monday at Kobie Marketing in St Petersburg. Kobie's CFO Ashby Green is on right. [CHERIE DIEZ | Times]
Published March 14, 2016

Four days.

That's how long Gov. Rick Scott had the state budget last year before he vetoed a record $461.4 million in spending by the Legislature.

Lawmakers were livid with Scott, but not just for wiping out their spending priorities. They, along with Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, were shocked at Scott's refusal to give them a perfunctory chance to make the case for their projects.

State government seldom moves that fast.

Scott didn't get last year's budget until June 19, less than two weeks before a new fiscal year was to begin, so in fairness he didn't have much time. But if he had listened, people would have felt that they had a fair hearing.

That's why Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, had this to say about Scott and the new budget when the 2016 session ended Friday: "My hope would be that the governor just takes his time and allows local communities to advocate their projects. … Give everybody the opportunity to defend what's in the budget."

In St. Petersburg on Monday, Scott promised that one thing will be different this year: He'll listen.

"I've been talking to House and Senate members all during session, and we've been talking to them the last few days," Scott said. "We've been reviewing the budget. … We've been talking to the legislators. They are all calling."

Scott said he's taking their calls this time.

"I'm answering, and my team is answering, so we're listening to everybody," Scott said.

Scott's challenge this year is whether he'll be consistent in his veto decisions.

The new budget contains nearly as many local projects as last year's — including some of the very same projects Scott eliminated in 2015. How can he justify approving projects this year that he vetoed last year?

Last year, Scott vetoed new college buildings because they "were not identified as a priority by the college system."

"He talks about jobs and then he turns around and vetoes them," Republican Sen. Greg Evers said after Scott axed a Pensacola industrial park project.

Scott last year vetoed a $350,000 grant to the North Broward Hospital District for awareness of AIDS and HIV, saying that the system "generates millions in profits … for this purpose."

(One reason why Scott's top health adviser, Dr. John Armstrong, was ousted from office by the Senate last Friday was because of concerns that the state is doing too little to combat an increase in HIV infections in South Florida.)

Scott last year vetoed money for mentally disabled citizens groups, United Cerebral Palsy and local homeless initiatives in Citrus and Miami-Dade, and his veto message said they were "not a statewide priority for improving cost, quality and access to health care."

Scott considers himself a fiscal conservative who is protective of tax dollars, and he's said to have his eye on a run for the U.S. Senate when his term expires in 2018.

He also has to find a way to get along with his fellow Republicans in the Legislature for two more years, and the $83.2 billion budget on its way to his desk is the largest in Florida history.

"I'm going to look and make sure we don't waste anybody's money," Scott told reporters at the Capitol last Friday.

The moment the House gives him the budget, he'll have 15 calendar days to act.

Contact Steve Bousquet at bousquet@tampabay.com or (850) 224-7263. Follow @stevebousquet.