Innovation, education victims of FL governor’s veto pen

Among the $410 million in items Gov. Rick Scott struck from Florida’s 2018 budget were more than 100 appropriations totaling more than $20 million that would support STEM education, higher ed, R&D and innovation.  Instead, the governor wants the state to spend more money promoting tourism.

Scott vetoed more than $20 million for innovation-oriented economic development items, including:

• University of Central Florida – Incubator - $750,000
• National Entrepreneur Center, UCF Research Foundation - $400,000
• Tampa Bay Center for Innovation - $1,000,000
• The e-Factory in Tampa Bay - $600,000
• Smart City Challenge Grant Program - $325,000
• Makerspace - $400,000
• Embry Riddle Manufacturing Academy and Apprenticeship Internship Program - $2,000,000
• StartUp FIU (Florida International University) - $1,000,000
• Naples Accelerator Innovation Center and Immokalee Food & Agribusiness - $1,200,000
• Beaver Street Enterprise Center - $400,000
• Florida Atlantic University Tech Runway - $1,200,000
• Eastern Florida State College - Center for Innovative Technology and Education - $2,000,000
• Florida State University - Interdisciplinary Research Commercialization Building - $8,000,000
• Innovation and Engineering Pipeline Project - $1,000,000

Additionally, some of the vetoed STEM and innovation-related education items include:

• Pasco Regional STEM School/Tampa Bay Region Aeronautics - $750,000
• University of South Florida, Sarasota/Manatee - STEM Programs at Mote - $2,516,965
• Florida State University - STEM Teaching Lab - $5,000,000
• University of South Florida, Sarasota/Manatee - South Florida Museum's Institute for STEAM Teaching - $50,000
• Florida High-Demand Career Act - $2,900,000
• Business and Leadership Institute for Early Learning - $200,000
• RISE Summer Math Academy - $90,531
• Orlando Science Center - $250,000
• Literacy Jump Start Program- $110,000
• Teach for America, Inc. - $1,403,750
• AMIKids Technology Match - $1,650,000
• Library Technology Grant Program - $3,000,000
• University of Florida Health Center - College of Public Health and Health Professions Distance Learning Program - $200,000
• Next Generation Agriculture Education Programs - $3,280,000

R&D related vetoes include:

• Identity Fraud Institute at Hodges University - $175,000
• Florida Institute of Technology - Indian River Lagoon Research Institute - $325,000
• Deering Estate Field Station Research Center - $1,200,000
• Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies – $100,000
• Urban Transportation Research - $140,000
• Santa Fe College - Rural and Urban Tech Initiative - $100,000
• Florida State University - Health Equity Research Institute - $750,000
• University of West Florida - Intelligent Systems and Robotics Ph.D. Program - $1,000,000
• Institute of Food and Agricultural Science: Florida Horticulture Research, Science & Education - $1,450,000
• Institute of Food and Agricultural Science: Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory – $778,987
• Institute of Food and Agricultural Science: Tropical Research and Education Center - $750,000
• Florida State University - Next Generation Ultra-High Field Magnets - $300,000

The complete list of vetoed items is available through this Bradenton Herald article.

The state legislature started a special session Wednesday to address the governor’s desire for more tourism ads and public infrastructure spending.  Several Florida media report legislative override of the above line item cuts is unlikely, as all of Scott’s previous budget-related vetoes have been upheld.