Scott-O-Meter

Tracking the promises of Gov. Rick Scott

"I will ensure these offices (local economic development offices) have the right resources and trained specialists so they can assist their local businesses obtain state and federal grants, and to comply with state and local regulatory processes in the least costly manner."

"We will eliminate overlapping economic development agencies and have one group that will assist local economic development agencies and serve as our statewide recruiting agency."

"I will invest in the state Innovation Fund that brought Scripps and Burnham research labs to Florida, developing high-tech clusters with high-paying jobs."

"Partner with universities... State economic development grants will always include partnerships with universities to develop research strengths into unique clusters."

"Reduce the statewide property tax [Required Local Effort] by $1.4 billion (from 5.29 mills to 4.29 mills, a 19 percent reduction). Savings from other key components in my 7-step plan will be used to replace those funds so that not $1 is shifted away from our schools."

"Phase in another 1 mill reduction (to the school property tax) over the next 7 years."

"Eliminate Florida's corporate income tax over seven years. Fully phasing out the corporate income tax over time will have a large positive benefit for Florida's economy while having a minimal impact on state revenues. Total state tax revenues will benefit from the dynamic economic growth created by the corporate income-tax phaseout."

"In total, Florida's economy will gain an additional 700,000 jobs, $74 billion in state GDP, $41 billion in higher personal income, $1 billion in total state tax revenues as a direct result of the increased economic growth."

"Rick is opposed to amnesty and will fight amnesty for lawbreakers."

"Rick will require all Florida employers to use the free E-Verify system to ensure that their workers are legal."

"We need to support our hard working, dedicated teachers who understand the importance of getting good results. I believe we should hold people accountable for those results and when they produce, they should be rewarded. In business, we judge that by the quality of work people produce. In the same way, a 'merit pay' plan would reward high-performing teachers and hold school administrators accountable, while under-performing teachers would be challenged to improve."

“Why would it be that teachers are guaranteed their jobs for life? If you were guaranteed — you didn’t have to do anything, just showed up, and you didn’t have any obligation other than showing up every day — you think you would get better or worse? Right. This stuff is not hard. So we have a big opportunity.”

"Rick will fight to ensure than any future offshore drilling does not negatively impact Florida's beaches. As we explore the expansion of domestic drilling in the U.S., we must ensure that we have sound policies in place that ensure the companies drilling are doing so in an environmentally sound way and adhering to the strictest of safety standards."

"As governor, Rick will work toward energy independence from foreign oil with the expansion of nuclear power, the use of alternative fuels and ensure that we can drill for oil safely.”

Said he would join efforts to repeal the health care law, including supporting a constitutional amendment that "prohibits the federal government from imposing President Obama's individual mandate, to protect Floridians' freedom to control their health care choices."

"Rick Scott will work with the Florida Legislature" to "ensure that Citizens consistently operates on actuarially sound rates."

"Rick Scott will promote policies to reduce the abuse and fraud that is driving our insurance costs up by proposing an effective measure of sinkhole damage and defining structural damage."

"Rick Scott supports the adoption of the Daubert standard to be used in the state of Florida. Forty of fifty states have adopted the more modern Daubert standard, by which evidence based on innovative or unusual scientific knowledge may be admitted only after it has been established that the evidence is reliable and scientifically valid."

State will "offer basic protection from unnecessary litigation to business owners who offer their services to first-responders in the aftermath of a disaster."

"Rick Scott supports extending sovereign immunity to physicians acting on behalf of the Department of Health, as already provided to those acting as agents of the Department of Corrections, and providing some measure of indemnification to those physicians who primarily treat Medicare and Medicaid patients."