Fla. governor affirms HSR rejection

Affirming his disdain for high speed rail, Florida Gov. Rick Scott late Thursday rejected a hastily arranged plan to rescue the state’s proposed 84-mile, $2.39 billion high speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando. The Republican governor’s move prompted angry reaction from state lawmakers, including some Republicans, who accused him of overstepping authority and threatened legal action.

Said Scott, “I remain convinced that the construction cost overruns, the operating cost risk, the risk that we would give the money back if it’s ever shut down, is too much for the taxpayers of the state.”

But State Sen. Thad Altman said he hoped Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood would grant Florida more time before reallocating the $2.4 billion to other states, in order to give the stage legislature more time to devise an alternate plan, and so lawmakers can explore challenging the governor on constitutional grounds. “I believe that he exceeded his executive authority and in a very strong sense we have a constitutional crisis on our hands,” Altman said. LaHood said Friday he would postpone the deadline for a decision by Florida, in hopes the governor’s office would reconsider.

Altman noted that the state legislature voted to accept $2.39 billion in federal money and build HSR in a special session. “We have a law on the books,” he said, and quoted the portion of the Florida Constitution that reads: “The Governor shall take care that the laws of Florida are faithfully executed.”

Scott argued state taxpayers could be responsible for any cost overruns and doubted ridership would be high enough. Several surveys, however, show state residents generally in support of the project.

In a statement, Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.), Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said, "The Governor has made his decision to not pursue the Florida passenger rail project. I understand his concerns with the overall project, which would incur certain risks..”

Mica added, "I have done all that I can to salvage the project to this point and present what I consider to be a viable alternative plan that places the risk with the private sector and protects the taxpayers.” Mica’s alternative, a “21-mile segment from the Orlando Airport to the [Orange County] Convention Center and Disney World,” has been ridiculed by HSR and rail activists nationwide as timid at best, or simply a political dodge.