Mia Jones On Rick Scott's Vetoes

Florida state Rep. Mia Jones (D-Jacksonville) sent out this press release. Jones calls Scott's budget line-item vetoes job killing and anti-education. No argument from me.

State Representative Mia L. Jones issued the following statement regarding the Governor Rick Scott's Budget Signing:

"While I am disappointed, I am not surprised that Governor Rick Scott signed a budget that eliminates jobs for thousands of state workers and does nothing to put Floridians back to work. It is unfortunate that the one group of state employees who are probably suffering the least is the governor's staff and agency heads who are earning more than their predecessors.

I am equally outraged that the governor would line-item veto projects in the budget without properly vetting them on their merits and speaking with the organizations that will have to live with the impacts. Thanks to the Governor's vetoes, Northeast Florida will lose millions of dollars, including much needed funding to the Agape Community Health Center that would have been the sole provider of vital emergency dental services to our most vulnerable uninsured and underemployed adults throughout our community. The Governor's vetoes will also impact Florida State College at Jacksonville and the University of North Florida, which will now have to find funds to address needed infrastructure renovations and improvements for HVAC and Roofing problems within their existing infrastructure.

As we move forward, I hope the governor will provide the citizens of our state clarification on where he stands on public education. To say that these vetoes were a way to put more dollars in our public schools is offensive considering his budget recommendation cut public education by nearly 8 percent."