• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2022
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

Citing “Florida Exceptionalism,” Gov. Scott Calls for Tax Cuts and Education Spending in State of the State

March 3, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Gov. Rick Scott delivering a previous State of the State address. (Florida Memory)
Gov. Rick Scott delivering a previous State of the State address. (Florida Memory)

Calling on something he termed “Florida exceptionalism,” Gov. Rick Scott used the annual State of the State address Tuesday to try to reinvigorate his legislative agenda after a difficult opening to his second term.


During the 21-minute speech, Scott pushed lawmakers to adopt his proposals to slash taxes, hold down the cost of higher education and boost public education spending to the highest per-student level in state history.

“Now that our economy is thriving, it’s time to make major investments in education,” Scott said. “Let’s not squander our budget surpluses on special interests. Our budget should absolutely reflect the principles we campaigned on. Or in other words, we should do exactly what we told voters we would do.”

Scott did not unveil new proposals in the speech which, after the introductions, was interrupted almost 40 times for applause. But as he has done in the past, the governor introduced an overarching theme to tie together his agenda. He used “dream” or some form of the word 19 times in the address.

“Florida’s long been a place where dreams come true. But this is not just our past, it’s our future. … We want more people to chase their dreams in the great state of Florida,” he said.

The annual speech also gave Scott a chance to change the subject after a bruising two months that featured questions about the forced resignation of the state’s top law-enforcement officer and speculation that Scott’s influence might be waning as lawmakers begin looking past the term-limited governor.

Some of Scott’s goals enjoy broad support, including his call to increase education funding. There is also agreement, at least among the Republicans who control the Legislature, on the need for further tax cuts, though the amount of those cuts and which taxes are slashed might differ.

The governor’s call to “keep cutting taxes” was one of his best applause lines, and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, said he would like to lower taxes by at least $500 million, despite questions about whether the state could lose $2 billion in health-care funding from federal and local sources.

“I’d love to surpass the $500 million cut that we had last year,” Crisafulli said. “That would be my goal for the House. Obviously, things happen, and we’ll just have to see how things play out over the next several weeks.”

Democrats, unsurprisingly, were critical of Scott’s remarks. Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, took issue with Scott’s frequent references to dreams coming true in Florida.

“Dreams are not coming true for over a million Floridians who are blocked out of affordable health care,” she said, referring to Republicans’ refusal to expand Medicaid despite Scott’s previous, tepid support for the plan. ” … Dreams die when people get sick and can’t get health care. One of the top issues facing this state is providing health care for 1 million people who don’t have it, and the governor didn’t even mention it.”

Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, expressed concerned about Scott’s push for more tax cuts.

“The idea of handing those (dollars) out in tax cuts every year means that things like teacher’s salaries, more police officers, better-supported judges, better-supported public defenders and state attorneys, suffer the consequences,” Bullard said. “We have to be about the business of protecting the revenue streams that we have and not losing sight of the good that government can do. Government should be in the business of helping and protecting people, and not be in the business of being shrunken to the point that it suffocates.”

–News Service of Florida

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
You and your neighbors collectively read our articles about 25,000 times each day (that's not a typo) with up to 65,000 daily reads during emergencies like hurricanes. Flagler County residents rely on FlaglerLive for essential, bold and analytical journalism that cannot be found anywhere else. But we depend on your support. Please join our December fund drive! If you donate the cost of a scoop of ice cream, you will be helping us continue to provide comprehensive local news and honest, serious journalism for our community. If you can donate more or become a monthly donor, even better. Donations are tax deductible since FlaglerLive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donate by clicking anywhere in this box. Think of it as buying a scoop, in every sense of the term!  
All donors' identities are kept confidential and anonymous.
   

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. John Smallberries says

    March 3, 2015 at 9:11 pm

    “florida exceptionalism”

    Reply
  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Advertisers

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Recent Comments

  • G on I’m Almost 67, I Worked 22 Years With Walmart, Yet Can’t Afford to Retire
  • Sad Cookie Lover's Friend on Crumbl Cookies Opening Soon at Palm Coast’s Island Walk
  • Ahto Motive on I’m Almost 67, I Worked 22 Years With Walmart, Yet Can’t Afford to Retire
  • Mike the Texan on I’m Almost 67, I Worked 22 Years With Walmart, Yet Can’t Afford to Retire
  • Jimbo99 on I’m Almost 67, I Worked 22 Years With Walmart, Yet Can’t Afford to Retire
  • Mike the Texan on I’m Almost 67, I Worked 22 Years With Walmart, Yet Can’t Afford to Retire
  • Ben Hogarth on Flagler Sheriff’s Sgt. Breckwoldt, In Charge of Narcotics Unit, at Center of Abuse of Power Allegation
  • Anita on I’m Almost 67, I Worked 22 Years With Walmart, Yet Can’t Afford to Retire
  • JOE D on He Was Convinced the School Board Was Pushing “Transgender BS.” He Was Arrested. And Emboldened.
  • djwhite077 on I’m Almost 67, I Worked 22 Years With Walmart, Yet Can’t Afford to Retire
  • Pogo on I’m Almost 67, I Worked 22 Years With Walmart, Yet Can’t Afford to Retire
  • Shirley on I’m Almost 67, I Worked 22 Years With Walmart, Yet Can’t Afford to Retire
  • Tired of it on Florida Will Publish Annual Index of Books Banned or Challenged in Schools
  • Hookah Smoking Caterpillar on I’m Almost 67, I Worked 22 Years With Walmart, Yet Can’t Afford to Retire
  • Edith Campins on Florida Will Publish Annual Index of Books Banned or Challenged in Schools
  • Jim on I’m Almost 67, I Worked 22 Years With Walmart, Yet Can’t Afford to Retire

Log in