Christine Jordan Sexton
House budget chief Richard Corcoran has a message for Gov. Rick Scott.
“I would tell the governor to go forth boldly and veto,” Corcoran, said paraphrasing Martin Luther.
Corcoran worked with Senate budget chief Tom Lee to hammer out a nearly $79 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2015-16.
Addressing a group of reporters outside the House chambers minute after the Legislature agreed to sine die, Corcoran said Florida governors have line item veto authority. Despite legislative attempts to protection portions of the spending plan from a veto, the governor should exercise his constitutional rights, Corcoran said.
“There are a tremendous amount of things in there he can and should veto,” said Corcoran.
Florida Politics reported earlier this week the steps the Legislature took to prevent the Low Income Pool from being vetoed.
Lee said on Wednesday that the Senate made clear that some portions of the budget–such as the Low Income Pool formula–were hard-fought compromises and that it did not want the governor unraveling those agreements when the Legislature leaves town.
Lee noted that the Senate could not have moved ahead with its veto proof approach if the House hadn’t agreed to go along with the idea.
Corcoran said the House agreed with the Senate only in the “spirit of compromise.”
“It’s compromise. You have to compromise. I don’t think, had we (the House) been the sole authors of the legislation, I don’t think we would have done those things.”
The Legislature sent the General Appropriations Act to the governor at 5:38 p.m. Friday evening. The governor normally has 15 days to veto a bill after receiving it. That time period will be shorted because the current fiscal year expires in 11 days.
