High-speed rail dispute now playing out in court

The fate of high-speed rail in Florida moved beyond the political forum Tuesday to the Florida Supreme Court where a bipartisan pair of state senators sought to force Gov. Rick Scott to accept a $2.4 billion federal allocation for the Tampa-Orlando project.

In a 25-page emergency petition backed by nearly 240 pages of documents, Melbourne Republican Thad Altman and Tampa Democrat Arthenia Joyner made the legal case that Scott has no authority to reject the money.

"If every newly elected governor decided to stop the major infrastructure project which were underway when he was elected ...Florida will not be able to plan, finance, and construct the major infrastructure projects it requires for its people and its future," their petition said.

Their arguments did not sway Scott, who issued a statement saying, "My position remains unchanged. I've yet to see any evidence that Florida taxpayers would not be on the hook."

He also took Altman and Joyner to task for their action. "Senators Altman's and Joyner's disrespect for taxpayers is clear by their lawsuit trying to force the state to spend this money."

The Supreme Court gave Scott until noon today to respond to the petition submitted on behalf of the senators by Melbourne attorney Clifton A. McClelland Jr.

Joyner and Altman argued that the Legislature in December 2009 created the Florida Rail Enterprise under the High-Speed Rail Act to plan, finance, build, operate and own high-speed rail in Florida.

If the Legislature intended for the governor to exercise significant control of the high-speed rail system, it would have simply delegated authority to that office or the Florida Department of Transportation, which it did not, the petition said.

"The governor has unilaterally decided the State of Florida will not move forward with this transportation project," the petition said. "The governor has no authority to reject the specific appropriations by the Florida Legislature or reject the express directives of the High Speed Rail Act."

In a Tallahassee news conference on Tuesday, Joyner talked about Scott's rejection of the federal money.

"This is not a monarchy, he is not a king, this is a democracy and there are three co-equal, independent branches of government, and it is necessary for them to be respected," she said.

"The issue at hand is to create a state-of-the-art rail line at no cost to the taxpayers and all those assurances have been made time and time again but to no avail. So we felt it necessary to step in and ask the third branch of government to review what we feel is the most important issue facing Florida at this time, because our governor campaigned on the issue of jobs."

Altman said that rejecting the money would ultimately lead to the federal government giving it to other states, which he said "would be a colossal mistake."

At the request of Altman and Joyner, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson asked U.S. transportation secretary Ray LaHood "for more time for the court to consider their case and to ensure that Florida gets the money it was awarded."

LaHood extended his original deadline until Friday, but Nelson asked for another week.

"I've previously said I think the governor may have exceeded his authority in this matter.  The stakes are too high not to seek further review of his decision," Nelson said. "We're talking about $2.4 billion and 24,000 jobs."

Members of a coalition of business and elected officials stretching from Washington to Tampa to Miami praised the petition.

"I read through the lawsuit and it's a bipartisan challenge to the governor's authority that makes some very strong legal points," said Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa, a project advocate and attorney.

"I am more hopeful today because of the very strong legal argument. I also think the pressure from the business community and the number of jobs (that could be provided) must give the governor pause, at least to get the private bid documents on the street."

With pressure from the business community and a very strong bipartisan legal challenge, Scott must set ideology aside and do what's best for the economy, she said.

National Association of Rail Passengers president Ross Capon said he's pleased with the petition, which comes at a time when "both the long-term world energy situation and current events in the Middle East argue strongly for developing passenger rail as a meaningful alternative for traveling in Florida."

Opponents, who say their concerns relate primarily to deficit federal spending and a claim the state would be liable for project overruns - which LaHood last week labeled as "baloney" -- panned the petition.

"The Florida Senate will not join in their lawsuit," State Senate President Mike Haridopolos said. "Funding of the high rail project is not something we as a state and a country can afford," said Haridopolos, who in 2009 supported creation of the Florida Rail Act.

Earlier this year, Haridopolos said he was open to the funding if the remaining $300 million was paid by private companies, but reversed field after Scott's rejection as he set his sights on challenging Nelson for his U.S. Senate position.

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