Gov. Rick Scott will sign bill banning governments from hiring companies tied to Cuba

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Miami Herald

Gov. Rick Scott will sign bill banning governments from hiring companies tied to Cuba
By Patricia Mazzei, Miami Herald
Posted: Apr 27, 2012 07:21 PM

Gov. Rick Scott said on Friday that he intends to sign contentious legislation that would ban the state and local governments from hiring companies with business ties to Cuba and Syria.

"As we all know, the record of the Castro and Assad governments are undeniably repressive," Scott said in a phone call to Spanish-language radio station WAQI-AM (710), known as Radio Mambí. "I'm going to sign legislation that protects Florida taxpayers from unintentionally supporting dictatorships that commit such despicable acts."

The governor told host Ninoska Pérez Castellón that he will sign House Bill 959 on Tuesday in Miami at the Freedom Tower, a symbolic setting for the Cuban exiles who were processed there when they first entered the United States.

In throwing his support behind the bill, Scott sided with the nearly-unanimous Legislature. The legislation was authored by Miami-Dade Republicans who argued taxpayer dollars should not fund companies connected to oppressive regimes in Cuba and Syria.



Read more: http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/gov-rick-scott-will-sign-bill-banning-governments-from-hiring-companies/1227322

[Judi Lynn]

1. Orlando Sentinel: Our take: Anti-Cuba bill

Our take: Anti-Cuba bill
April 28, 2012
More harm than good

Inspired by the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba — a failed 50-year-old formula for undermining its communist dictatorship — the Florida Legislature passed a bill last month that would ban governments in the state from hiring companies with business ties to Cuba or Syria.

Still on Gov. Rick Scott's desk as of Friday, the bill isn't just pointless. It could deter job-creating foreign investments in Florida, and it's probably unconstitutional.

You can hate the Castros and still oppose this bill. The governor should veto it.

Sponsored by lawmakers in Miami-Dade County, the bill would bar any governments in Florida from awarding contracts worth $1 million or more to any companies that do work in Cuba. It would also target firms tied to Syria, whose army has been killing government opponents.

More:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-veto-cuba-bill-042812-20120427,0,4225146.story

[Archae]

10. Yet these same clowns...

Will support businesses that have intererests in Communist China, and Vietnam.
"Oh that's different!"

This is due to pressure from the "Cuban exile community," a group that has the delusion that once Castro finally dies, they can just pack up and return to Cuba and take up where they left off back in 1959.

[Judi Lynn]

15. You're exactly right! Miami's Cuban "exile" Mas Canosa family does business there.

Jorge Mas Canosa, himself, expected to be the next President of Cuba, and he was extremely tied to Ronald Reagan, and courted all the other Presidents before he died in the 1990's.

Here's a quick grab from one search:

2/18/94 The family engineering business owned by Jorge Mas Canosa has discussed investing nearly $ 200 million in hydroelectric power plant construction projects and purchasing a majority stake in Chengdu Machinery. Canosa is chairman of the company, Church and Tower Inc. and president of the Cuban American National Foundation, an anti-Castro organization. Church and Tower would have partners in companies controlled by the municipal government of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, according to Jorge Mas Canosa Jr. But on Friday, a spokesman for the Mas family said nothing is final. Mas Jr., Church and Tower's president, acknowledged that the family would be in for political criticism. But he defended the discussions, saying the Chinese and Cuban governments are ''totally different.'' He cited economic freedom and increasing political democracy in China, but said Cuba languishes as a totalitarian state. Mas Jr. said he, not his father who opposes trade with Cuba, made the decision to discuss investing in China. (AP 2/18/94)

http://cuban-exile.com/doc_126-150/doc0146b.html

The organization Jorge Mas Canosa founded, the Cuban American National Foundation is a heavy political player in all national politics, heavily financing many right-wing politicians for years, and having been outed as the source of funding for truly vicious acts of aggression against Cuban citizens, including payments to the mass murdering/airline bomber/CIA operative, Luis Posada Carriles.

Yup, China's A-OK in their books, if there's a penny to be made there, but Cuba is strictly forbidden until the time they can get the US to attack Cuba again, and put their fat behinds back in all the positions of power which they abused so hideously LAST time they were there they brought on the Cuban Revolution.

They want the US taxpayers to overturn the Cuban people's own revolution against them. Idiots.

[Selatius]

2. Taxpayer dollars should not fund companies connected to brutal regimes? Did China go democratic?

The mind boggles.

[lib2DaBone]

3. Gov pRick Scott

No stranger to contentious legislation... a Koch Bros foot soldier.

[aquart]

4. Last moronic gasp of old school Miami-Cubans.

[lilithsrevenge12]

5. THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT DOESN'T GET TO USE THE REPRESSIVE GOVERNMENT EXCUSE ANYMORE!

Come back and talk to me about how horrible other governments are when we stop illegally wiretapping citizens and hurling gas canisters at protesting veterans.

[Vogon_Glory]

6. Hammer The Republicans With The Consequences This Fall

IMO, this stupid legislation will have serious economic consequences for Florida and Floridians. Brazil and Canada, two countries that do a LOT of trade with Florida, are likely to get very annoyed with the clowns in Tallahassee and the bozo who signed this bill. The likely consequences are that Canadian and Brazilian companies are likely to divert funds they were thinking of spending and investing in Florida and send that money elsewhere.

What does that mean for Florida: a serious blow to whatever economic recovery is being made and a likely economic downturn in the Sunshine State. Kicking around Fidel Castro and his brother is one thing, the consequences are negligible. Setting off a trade war with Canada and Brazil, countries that do millions of dollars of business with Florida firms, is another matter altogether.

If Florida Democratic activists are clever, they'll use use the downturn to hammer Rick Scott, the Republican-controlled Florida legislature and, by extension, Mitt Romney. This would be an economic downturn caused by idiotic Republican politicians enacting idiotic Republican policies with direct negative economic consequences for thousands of Floridians. This is likely a downturn that would affect white collar as well as blue collar jobs.

Remember: those Tea-clowns ran on the platform of jobs, jobs, jobs. They SAID they were going to create them. They didn't say that they were going to COST Floridians jobs, jobs, jobs.

[Sancho]

7. That's good news! Rick Scott is doing everything he can to get tossed next election!

Honestly, our union membership has doubled under Rick Scott. He's well on the way to making an enemy of everyone in the state except half-a-dozen of his rich friends! Maybe he should ban Cuban children from Disney World next! It's a small world!

[flamingdem]

14. Give him enough rope, and good-bye skeletor

nt

[secondvariety]

8. Florida's loss-

other states' gain. I love how "local governments" are also included from doing business with Cuba. Reek Scoot and his minions has decimated local governments the ability to govern on many, many issues-from city/county gun ordinances to the raising of revenue. If he was the President instead of Governor, he'd be correctly classified as a dictator.

[SDjack]

9. This bill smells like special interest.

Someone is chasing a contract with the State of Florida or one of its counties. The likely company to win the bid has a business relationship with Cuba. So, a challenger knocks the leader out of contention, not with a winning bid, but with lobbyists buying off the legislature. Of course, the cost of lobbyists and payoff to politicians will be added to the price of the contract. People of Florida will pay more.

[Vogon_Glory]

12. Pay More With Less Tax Dollars

If this bill is then product of some special interest, Florida taxpayers will pay more for those services with less tax dollars thanks to the millions (or tens of millions) of dollars lost as Brazil and Canada retaliate against the Florida state legislature.

Slapping around private companies is one thing. Slapping around a national government is quite something else again.

[valerief]

11. Communist Cuba bad. Communist China good. Oh, the stupid! nt

[Daniel537]

13. Stupid and unconstitutional

This isn't the first time the Florida legislature has tried to get involved in foreign policy, specifically towards Cuba, and it won't be the first time a judge overturns one of those laws. And of course, legal counsel at the expense of the taxpayers.

[onehandle]

16. In related news, The Governor of Idaho signs a bill banning those tied to the Lost City Of Atlantis.

Pretty much just as useful, but much less pandery.

[truthisfreedom]

17. Job-killing in Florida, one signed bill at a time. Nice work, Rick.