Lawmakers seek way around Scott's rail decision

Gov. Rick Scott's rejection of $2.4 billion in federal high-speed rail funds stunned elected officials of both major parties Wednesday, prompting them to seek a statutory end-run on the governor's decision.

Members of Florida's Congressional delegation first scrambled unsuccessfully to get Scott to reconsider, then began exploring how a newly created entity apart from the Florida Department of Transportation might accept and use the federal allocation.

"I don't have a law school degree, but we are going to look at every option," said U.S. Rep John Mica, R-Winter Park, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Scott announced in a hastily called press conference Wednesday that he was rejecting the funds President Obama announced in a celebratory visit to Tampa in January 2010 to build the nation's first high-speed rail project in Florida by 2015.

State officials said it would create more than 23,000 jobs, many in construction fields where unemployment is nearly 20 percent.

The governor made his decision before FDOT updated ridership and revenue projections -- scheduled for completion within two weeks -- although Scott said he reviewed available highlights.

Instead Scott relied on a controversial January report by the libertarian think tank Reason Foundation, which contended Florida's project could cost $3 billion more than projected based on experience elsewhere. Robert Poole, the foundation's transportation director, was a member of Scott's economic transition team created before he took office to advise him.

Scott also reviewed reports by the conservative Heritage Foundation and the Florida Chamber Foundation, said Scott's deputy press secretary Amy Graham.

Scott in his news conference cited possible overruns and historically optimistic rail ridership projections as key points in his decision.

"The truth is that this project would be far too costly for taxpayers and I believe the risk far outweighs the benefits," Scott said.

Scott believes Florida is better served by investments in ports, highways and other infrastructure to create long-term jobs. But the high-speed funds can be used only for rail improvements and not for other projects or to reduce the federal deficit.

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who had immediately turned high-speed rail funds over to other states, including Florida, after Republican governors in Ohio and Wisconsin rejected the federal funding, is expected to wait at least until week's end before re-allocating Florida's $2.4 billion.

Florida's Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson suggested possibly creating a rail authority separate from the one under the Florida Department of Transportation, which Scott controls, that could accept the funds.

LaHood, a Republican, promised Nelson he'd have federal attorneys look at that possibility.

The Associated Press reported LaHood was "encouraged to find a way to go ahead with the project without Scott's support."

But, he warned in a statement earlier in the day, "There is overwhelming demand for high-speed rail in other states that are enthusiastic to receive Florida's funding and the economic benefits it can deliver, such as manufacturing and construction jobs, as well as private development along its corridors."

Already, New York's two U.S. senators have begun lobbying the U.S. Department of Transportation for the money set aside for Florida, the Associated Press reported Wednesday night. California and Washington State leaders are also eying the funds, according to reports from newspapers there.

C.C. "Doc" Dockery, a Republican who spearheaded the high-speed rail movement in the state by backing a successful citizen initiative in 2000, reacted to the governor's announcement by calling it "a great day for the citizens of California, who will be getting billions of dollars that Florida didn't want and the thousands of jobs that come with the money."

The 2000 ballot item required the state to construct the rail system, but after a high-pressure campaign by then-Gov. Jeb Bush and other legislative leaders, voters later reversed course and repealed the train program. Dockery continued to push, serving on the Florida High Speed Rail Authority before resigning in 2009.

"The governor's reasons for giving back high-speed rail money do not stand up to any small degree of scrutiny," Dockery said.

International teams that were expected to bid on the Florida project would have to guarantee that there would be no cost overruns and the system would run without subsidies, he said.

"These companies and their countries must think we are backward fools in Florida," Dockery said. "The governor in effect is calling these teams liars."

As for the future of high-speed rail in Florida, "You'd have to ask Scott about that," Dockery said. "Ask the teabaggers," he added, referring to tea party activists who objected to the rail line.

Sharon Calvert, a Tampa Tea Party leader who doubted the promise of all the long-term jobs that backers say rail would have brought, praised Scott's decision.

"We're very pleased with the decision and thrilled," she said.

Democratic U.S. Rep Kathy Castor, of Tampa, criticized Scott's decision. "I do believe the governor has put ideology ahead of the best interests of the state."

Although Scott has previously expressed concern that nearly $300 million in state money was needed to receive the $2.4 billion in federal funds, many, including Mica, believed that the consortiums bidding on the project would have footed the bill.

"The sad part," Mica said Wednesday, "is not allowing the private sector to come in with proposals. We never got a chance to see what was going to be offered. But I have not raised the white flag of surrender."