Florida Legislators: Governor Cannot Reject ARRA Funds

Florida state legislators have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Rick Scott over his rejection of more than $2 billion in federal funding for a high-speed-rail line. Sen. Thad Altman (R) of Melbourne and Sen. Arthenia Joyner (D) of Tampa petitioned the Florida Supreme Court on Feb. 28 seeking an injunction “requiring that [Gov. Rick Scott] accept the ARRA funds and apply the funds to the Florida high- speed-rail project as appropriated by the Legislature of the State of Florida.” The lawsuit asserts the governor does not have the authority to reject the funding, stating only the state Legislature has such legal authority, and calling his action “an attempted post-hoc veto of an appropriation simply because he does not agree with the federal directives on how this money is to be spent.”