Gobble, gobble: Florida TaxWatch still planning to release 2016 budget turkey list

turkeys tax watch

The governor may have already signed the budget, but that isn’t stopping Florida TaxWatch from looking for turkeys.

Joe Follick, a spokesman for Florida TaxWatch, said the private, nonprofit organization still plans to release a 2016 turkey list. The organization will be in a similar position to 2015, when it issued its report days after Gov. Rick Scott signed the fiscal 2015-16 budget into law.

Scott signed fiscal 2016-17 budget on Thursday night, just a few hours after the Florida Legislature sent it to him. The decision to swiftly sign off on the annual spending plan made good on a promise made earlier to in the week sign the budget “into law as soon as the Florida Legislature delivers it.”

Scott also delivered on a promise to veto more $256.1 million from $82 billion budget. Scott said Tuesday that he intended to issue the vetoes, days before lawmakers even sent him the budget.

The governor’s quick action won’t stop TaxWatch from releasing a turkey list. The list isn’t a suggested veto list; instead it’s a meant to shine a light on projects that didn’t receive proper vetting during the legislative process.

In 2015, TaxWatch identified 189 projects worth $167 million that were inserted into the budget without sufficient public scrutiny.

Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster



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