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Bipartisan duo sues Florida Gov. Scott over rejection of federal high-speed rail money

The proposed route of Florida's high-speed rail system.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott made two big mistakes when he rejected $2.4 federal stimulus money for building the Tampa-to-Orlando leg of high-speed rail system that would eventually link Tampa to Miami with bullet trains.

First, he rejected the money, which would not only pay for 90 percent of the nation's first truly HSR line but also generate thousands of jobs in a state where unemployment is above the national average. And, second, the newbie governor, serving in his first elected office, failed to give advance notice of his intentions to the powers-that-be in the state legislature, including fellow Republicans. Along with much of the rest of the political and business establishments in Florida, those legislators were appalled at the first decision and irked at the second.

Twenty-six of them — 11 Democrats and 15 Republicans — sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood asking him not to divvy up the money and send it to other states while they tried to decide whether the governor had exceeded his constitutional authority.

For the past two weeks, cajoling and debating with the governor failed to get him to change his mind. So today, two of those legislators, Arthenia Joyner (D-Tampa) and Thad Altman (R-Melbourne) sued Scott, arguing that Scott did overstep his bounds by rejecting money for a project that was approved in a special legislative session in December 2009.

"Its all about jobs and getting Florida back to work," Joyner said, echoing Scott's campaign motto.

The suit wants the court to order Scott to "expeditiously accept" the federal money. It also suit seeks an injunction if necessary. Altman said they may need more time from U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to ensure that Florida gets the money it was promised.

Details of the suit are sketchy at the moment because the court action was just filed. Altman and Joyner plan to have a press conference later today.

The lawsuit caps a mad two weeks of political posturing in which Scott unexpected declared he wouldn’t take the federal money because he worried the state would ultimately “be on the hook” for project cost over-runs and the cost of operating the train.

Observers say there is precedent for success. When then-Gov. Jeb rejected millions of dollars in school funding passed by legislators, a lawsuit by then-Senate Toni Jennings successfully overturned the governor's decision. The Florida Supreme Court ruled in that case that the governor could veto an entire bill, but not part of one. The bill that approved the high-speed rail project also approved another, SunRail, a commuter rail system connecting cities in central Florida to Orlando. Scott has not rejected that project.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/01/951452/-Bipartisan-duo-sues-Florida-Gov-Scott-over-rejection-of-federal-high-speed-rail-money