Under the new law that has yet to be passed, Visit Florida will require state congressional oversight to approve any business deal that represents a value of more than $750,000, one of the many ways transparency will be enforced. This serves as an example of the war House Speaker Corcoran has waged on corporate welfare, which casts a somewhat dim light on Governor Rick Scott. State spending is, first and foremost, Gov. Scott’s purview, and it was technically on his watch that it grew a bit out of control through Visit Florida. Corcoran’s warpath, going so far as to sue Pitbull’s production company, has even contributed to putting Gov. Scott at odds with Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity (AFP)—an advocacy group that facilitates citizenship training for illegal immigrants and targets state spending for tourism marketing and job incentives.
Phillips disagrees with what Gov. Scott’s policy thus far indicates about his ideas on what the purpose of the state is. He says, “A core function of a state is education, transportation, roads, infrastructure—a core function.” He also says that AFP is already setting its eyes on the midterms. “I think Florida governor will be a priority for us. We will absolutely look at the [U.S.] Senate race.” Upon being elected Vice Chair of the Republican Governors Association, Gov. Scott is widely expected to make a play for the U.S. Senate come midterms, and House Speaker Corcoran’s hard stance against so-called “corporate welfare” might be pulling obstacles into Gov. Scott’s ambitious path.
