Already reeling from a string of business incentive deals that have failed to deliver, Florida's economic development agency could soon be subject to increased legislative oversight under a sweeping reform bill filed this week.

  • Measure SB 216 filed by Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez (D-Miami)
  • Bill would require annual audits of business incentive deals
  • State Senate would also gain power to confirm Enterprise Florida chair

The measure, SB 216, by Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez (D-Miami), would require annual audits of incentive deals brokered between Enterprise Florida and companies that promise to create a specified number of jobs. In recent years, taxpayers have been on the losing end of such arrangements, providing seed money for jobs that never materialized.

The legislation would also require Enterprise Florida's president to be confirmed by the Florida Senate. Such a move would effectively strip Gov. Rick Scott of his prerogative as chairman of the Enterprise Florida board of directors to hire and fire the agency's chief.

Incentive deals would need to be approved by a two-thirds vote by the board, reducing the potential for cronyism.

Enterprise Florida's critics, including House Speaker Richard Corcoran (R-Land O'Lakes), have questioned the very concept of business incentives, suggesting they fly in the face of the free market principles held dear by Tallahassee's majority Republicans.

"Hundreds of millions of dollars, of taxpayer dollars, is wasted on corporate welfare," Corcoran told his chamber in his inaugural address last month.

Such high-level disgust with Enterprise Florida's incentive program could embolden the reform bill's prospects. In a rarity around the Capitol's halls of power, progressives are joining with small-government conservatives to support it.

"It's all done, you know, shaking hands in a smoky room somewhere, and then we see what we're seeing now, where companies are able to bilk the taxpayers, put the money in their pocket," said Rich Templin, a lobbyist for the Florida AFL-CIO.

The bipartisan focus on shaking up the way Enterprise Florida does business also poses another headwind for Scott's quest to secure $85 million in new business incentive funding during the 2017 legislative session. The request represents a fraction of the $250 million he tried and failed to get earlier this year.

Still, some lawmakers continue to have an open mind, indicating a compromise including reform, along with some level of funding, might be possible.   

"Economic development and jobs is still the number one thing on peoples' minds," said Sen. Jack Latvala (R-Clearwater). "If we're going to have economic development, if we're going to have a jobs effort, we need to fund it."