Corcoran files suit to have Pitbull payment made public
“This is ridiculous and must be fixed. Taxpayers have a right to know how their money is spent,” Scott wrote Tuesday on his official Twitter account in reaction to an earlier POLITICO Florida story concerning the Pitbull contract, which the Florida House is prepared to sue over to publicize the tax dollars spent on the promotional deal.
But Scott wasn’t critical of the actual promotional campaign or of the Visit Florida tourism agency.
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“Those who think FL shouldn’t run anymore TV ads/ promote tourism in any way to FL don’t have an understanding of how our economy works … and how important tourism is to economic growth and job creation,” Scott wrote moments later.
That last message sends a message to House Speaker Richard Corcoran who told POLITICO Florida that his chamber might completely defund Visit Florida’s $74 million appropriation in the state budget.
Corcoran pushed Visit Florida and the company Pitbull used to negotiate with the agency, PDR Productions, to produce the contract with the Miami rapper and disclose what he was paid.
But, because the contract is considered a “trade secret” by Pitbull, an attorney representing him and the production company said any disclosure of the tax deal would violate the law and result in a third-degree felony.
Corcoran said he doesn’t believe the cost of the contract is a true trade secret and, he said, the House filed suit asking a Leon County judge to rule on whether the public has a right to know how it’s money is being spent in this case.
“This suit is not about Pitbull or his compensation,” said Corcoran Tuesday afternoon in a statement announcing the suit. “This is about the audacity of government entities who are under the false impression that they are above the law or believe somehow that taxpayer money is a never ending river of riches they get to play with.”
“.. Taxpayers have a right to hold those who spend their money accountable and that when asked, those responsible for that spending are transparent,” Corcoran said. “The House will protect the taxpayers and will utilize all means at our disposal to hold government accountable.”
…Visit Florida, however, said the video has been seen 20 million times and taxpayers received a good return on their investment, although the agency wouldn’t give an approximate dollar amount to justify the statement. [READ MORE]
Read the complaint filed by House Speaker Richard Corcoran “to force release of secret visit Florida contract.”: http://politi.co/2gXsmby