Florida Five: Scott, lawmakers clash over jobs funding, Fantasy sports face gambling scrutiny

Five of today’s top Florida political stories at your fingertips:

Gov Rick Scott at bud
Photo credit: FLGov.com

Gov. Scott, lawmakers clash over funneling tax dollars to businesses – Gov. Rick Scott’s mantra for years has been jobs, jobs, jobs. Now a key fund used to offer money to businesses that create jobs is dwindling, and he’s clashing with his fellow Republican lawmakers, pushing for more money to support the program. Scott has accused legislators of not giving enough money to Enterprise Florida, the public-private organization that recruits businesses to relocate or expand in Florida by offering taxpayer funds, known as incentives, in the form of tax credits, tax breaks or outright payments. Read more

Gambling or not, daily fantasy sports faces scrutiny – Think wagering $20 to win $1 million by picking a winning combination of NFL players for a fantasy team this Sunday is gambling? The league says it isn’t. So do fast-growing daily fantasy sports companies like DraftKings and FanDuel that offer the games and advertise with the long gambling-adverse pro football organization. Read more

RPOF Chair Blaise Ingoglia: GOP’s problem marketing, not conservative principles – State Rep. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), rallied the GOP Saturday night, insisting next year’s presidential election will come down to the Sunshine State. He called for new outreach efforts and staying on point with a conservative message. Speaking to the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) of Central East Florida, Ingoglia said the stakes would be high in 2016. Read more

Lobbyist miscues laid out in legislative report — So far, the legislative effort to review lobbying firms’ compensation reports hasn’t appeared to find any signs of corruption or malfeasance. But some firms might want to clean up their books a little bit. To try to gauge whether lobbying firms were leveling on reports they are required to file with the state about who’s paying them to work the Capitol, the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee decided to look over those statements from 2014. Read more

Florida in middle of port, airport building. Is it enough? – The last time Erik Paul took a Caribbean cruise out of PortMiami, getting off the ship took well over an hour. The lines clearing immigration in the port were backed up, and there was such general chaos that Paul’s mother got into a heated argument with a purser when she insisted on getting off the Carnival ship before she was called. “The port was unable to handle the customer loads,” said Paul, 47, who lives in Orlando. “It seemed like a disorganized mess.” Read more

Bonus: Miami Beach Convention Center’s big plans

For more Florida political news, visit BPR’s FLORIDA NEWS page

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