Drew Wilson
The Florida branch of the conservative group Americans for Prosperity announced its 2017 legislative priorities Friday; dismantling Enterprise Florida is on the top of the list.
“In 2015 the Governor boldly stated that ‘taxpayers are better investors than government.’ We completely agree. That’s why we’re calling on both chambers to put politics aside and work towards dismantling the failed quasi-state agency, Enterprise Florida,” said AFP-FL Director Chris Hudson. “Government shouldn’t be in the business of picking winners and losers. Let’s level the playing field and eliminate programs that rig the system against established Florida businesses.”
The group also said it was looking for lawmakers to pass some “common sense health care reforms” while waiting to on Congress repeal the Affordable Care Act and advocated pulling back certificate of need laws, expanding telemedicine and further broadening the scope of practice.
AFP-FL said it was also looking for the Legislature to “aggressively” expand school choice by “expanding opportunities for responsible charter schools to operate in the state.”
AFP-FL maintains a “billboard” of all the bills it supports or opposes on its website. The group said it plans to keep lawmakers in the loop about whether they are still for or against bills after any changes are made in the committee process.
How individual lawmakers vote on the bills tracked by AFP-FL will be tallied for the group’s 2017 Legislative Scorecard, a grading system for how well lawmakers align with the organization’s values.
