Based on the comments from lawmakers from both political stripes in Tallahassee today, Floridians will be receiving a financial break when they renew their car or truck tag fees next year - the question is simply by how much.
Governor Rick Scott announced in Tampa his proposal — a $401 million dollar tax cut on vehicle registration fees — which he said would bring the level below what Floridians paid in 2009, when the state legislature raised the fees.
"An average Floridian family will see a reduction in registration fees from $71 to $46 next September. That’s an average decrease of $25," Scott said while speaking in a cramped room jammed with supporters and reporters at the Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore.
[jump]Although it's clear that the Legislature will cut the registration fees, they may not do so at the levels that Scott is requesting.
Joe Negron (R-Palm City) will sponsor such a bill in the Senate. When asked by CL how big a cut he planned, he said it was too early in the process to give out hard dollar figures. "We will have time to determine the size and the scope of reduction in fees, but what I can promise people is the reduction will be substantial and families will feel it."
His bill (SB 156) as is would cut only half the amount, or $12 per individual, that Scott is proposing.
House Democratic Democratic Leader Perry Thurston (D-Fort Lauderdale) said today that "The governor’s election-season turnaround on this matter is heartening, and I hope that he also finds the courage to adequately fund education, support health coverage expansion, and meet other priorities of working families and small businesses that have been neglected under Florida’s current Republican leadership.”
Scott is pushing the $401 million tax cut as part of an overall $500 million tax cut plan that he was boasting about on Thursday, and something that he no doubt will be crowing about on the campaign trail over the course of 2014.
In fact he seemed to already be in campaign mode, bragging about how Florida had one of the lowest tax rates in the country. "Every dime that we get back in a family's pocket is a greater chance for them to live the American dream," he said, adding that it allows them to buy a house or car, though admittedly, it won't come from this specific tax cut.
The Legislature originally raised these same fees back in 2009 at the apex of the recession. The Governor at that time was Charlie Crist, now running as a Democrat against Scott. But the Legislature was just as Republican in sheer numbers as it is today. Scott refused to say today whether he thought it was an appropriate vote by lawmakers at the time, though he was asked about that several times.
Finally this reporter asked if he might use the tax cut as a cudgel against Charlie Crist when the campaign heats up next year. He again stayed on message. "My job and what I've done every day since I've become governor, is to say how do we make sure how families like mine growing up. I remember when my parents lost their job. I remember when my dad lost his car. I want to make sure those families get a job."
Although most Floridians will no doubt cheer the governor's statement today, a new poll released by St. Leo University shows that he's going to need to spread more good cheer to get his poll numbers up. The survey shows Scott trailing Crist 46-34 percent. And it showed the governor's personal approval ratings plummeting to the depths of where President Obama finds himself in some polls today - at 38 percent (The poll surveyed adults, not registered or even likely voters).