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Rick Scott Called Out By Steve Beshear For Letter Luring Companies To Florida

Dem Governor Slams Rick Scott's 'Clumsy Attempt'
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Florida Gov. Rick Scott delivers remarks at .decimal, Inc. (pronounced 'dot-decimal') during a visit to the medical device manufacturer's facility in Sanford, Monday, April 29, 2013. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/MCT via Getty Images)

A new battle heated up Tuesday after Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) posted a letter on Facebook criticizing Florida Gov. Rick Scott's (R) attempt to lure companies from Kentucky.

Beshear's post detailed Kentucky's positive economic climate, contrary to what Scott described in a June 17 letter he mailed to Kentucky business leaders.

In the letter, the Florida governor focused on promoting his state, and described Kentucky's tax policies as "not working" and its unemployment rate as stagnant. The mailing followed a series of letters Scott sent to business leaders in other states.

Beshear called the letter "a clumsy attempt to raid our economy."

"While some people talk about economic momentum, here in Kentucky we’re demonstrating it," Beshear wrote on Facebook. "Gov. Scott’s clumsy attempt to raid our economy helped focus attention in national media on what actually is happening in Kentucky."

Beshear, who cited a series of job statistics and economic development in Kentucky, said he also was addressing a comment from a former New Zealand parliament member who he said described Kentucky as "stuck in the economic doldrums."

Scott said in June, when he sent the letter to Kentucky business leaders, that he sent similar letters to business leaders in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota and New York urging them to relocate to Florida. Scott, who faces reelection next year, used the Kentucky mailing to tout his economic efforts.

"Kentucky’s formula of higher taxes and more spending is not working," Scott said in a June statement. "Florida has cut over 2,500 regulations, cut taxes 25 times and paid down state debt. As a result, over the past year Kentucky’s unemployment rate remained relatively stagnant while Florida’s has dropped 1.7 percent."

Governors luring businesses from one state to their own is not new. In January, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) used his State of the State address to emphasize his plan to zero out the state's income tax to spur job creation and to send a message to Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), who has promoted similar efforts. "Look out Texas, here comes Kansas," Brownback said at the time.

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno (R), the state's economic development czar, described Gov. Chris Christie's (R) national political travel as a way to reach out to business leaders to bring companies to the state. Last year, she told HuffPost that Christie was able to lure Allergan, the manufacturer of Botox, to New Jersey while in California for a political speech.

In May, state legislators in Missouri and Kansas clashed over attempts to make their respective states more appealing to the gun and ammunition industries, which they said were looking for new homes after Colorado and New York passed new gun control laws. Kansas state Rep. Brett Hildabrand (R-Shawnee) told HuffPost at the time that he could even see the two states and Oklahoma forming a new gun corridor to lure the industry from other states.

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Before You Go

Rick Scott Controversies
Doctored Newspaper Front Page(01 of19)
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Florida Governor Rick Scott's Facebook managers posted an image containing a doctored Miami Herald headline, prompting the paper's managing editor to demand it be removed.The post, since deleted from the Governor's social media page, swapped in the headline "New Law Helps Put Floridians Back To Work" in place of the paper's original headline from 2007, "Murders Highlight Rise In Crime In Guatemala" -- making it appear an editorial from the governor had run above the fold on the Herald's front page. (credit:AP)
Non-Transparent Transparency Program(02 of19)
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After Florida Governor Rick Scott encouraged journalists to access his emails through his transparency program Project Sunburst in lieu of filing public records requests, it was revealed that emails to his official email account weren't in fact included -- Project Sunburst was only displaying emails sent to a second account that appears on Florida Tea Party websites. As a result at least one news report included a positively-skewed view of Scott after his Lt. Governor made anti-gay comments. (credit:Getty)
"Prayers" In Public Schools(03 of19)
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Scott approved SB 98, which means that Florida students are now allowed to deliver "inspirational messages" that include everything from prayers to manifestos at mandatory school events. (credit:AP)
Refuses Affordable Care Act(04 of19)
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In a statement, the governor said the healthcare law would not aid economic growth in his state "and since Florida is legally allowed to opt out, that's the right decision for our citizens." (credit:AP)
Spain Gaffe(05 of19)
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Scott met with King Juan Carlos of Spain during his economic development mission and immediately managed to bring up the uncomfortable topic of the monarch's disastrous elephant hunting trip to Botswana. (credit:AP)
Ads On State Trails(06 of19)
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In the midst of old-growth live oak hammocks, wild orchids, and vistas of Lakes Wales Ridge in Lake Kissimmee State Park, Florida hikers may soon see signs boasting "Buster Island Loop, brought to you by Pollo Tropical."Governor Rick Scott approved a bill permitting advertising on state greenways and trails, which went into effect July 1, 2012. (credit:AP)
Voter Purge(07 of19)
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The Governor is in a legal battle with the U.S. Justice Department over the state's effort to remove non-U.S. citizens from lists of registered voters ahead of this year's presidential election. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Reverses Ban On Dying Animals Artificial Colors(08 of19)
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Just before Easter, Florida Governor Rick Scott approved an agricultural bill, which permits animals to be dyed neon green and dayglo pink. (credit:AP)
Random Drug Testing(09 of19)
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The governor passed a law permitting state agencies to randomly drug test employees every 3 months. (credit:Getty)
49,000 Voters Discouraged From Polls(10 of19)
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Florida took center stage in the 2012 elections, when voters around the state had to wait in line at the polls for up to nine hours. Gov. Rick Scott (R) initially denied that there was any problem, saying it was "very good" that people were getting out to vote.But a new study shows that tens of thousands of people were actually discouraged from voting because of the long lines.According to an analysis by Theodore Allen, an associate professor of industrial engineering at Ohio State University, as many as 49,000 individuals in Central Florida did not vote because of the problems at the polls. (credit:AP)
Dismal Approval Rating -- Even Amongst GOP(11 of19)
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Most Florida voters, including Republicans, would like to see Gov. Rick Scott (R) challenged in 2014, according to a poll released by Quinnipiac University.More than half of voters said Scott didn't deserve a second term, and 55 percent, including 53 percent of Republicans, wanted another candidate to challenge the governor in a primary. Scott's approval ratings, though improved from 2011, were also underwater. (credit:AP)
Cost Taxpayers $1 Million In Legal Fees(12 of19)
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Governor Rick Scott's long list of controversial legislation -- including tweaking the state's pension plans, require drug testing of those on welfare, cutting teachers' pay, and purging voters -- may have cost Florida taxpayers upwards of $1 million in legal bills.The latest legal bill tallies at $190,000 after a federal court ruled that Florida has to pay the attorney fees as Scott fights for the right to drug test state workers.The Orlando Sentinel found that Scott has already cost taxpayers nearly $900,000 in attorney fees as he fights for his conversational legislation, making this latest legal bill tilt the tally over $1 million. (credit:AP)
First-Time Drug Offenders(13 of19)
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Florida Governor Rick Scott vetoed a widely popular bill that would send certain non-violent drug addicts to treatment after serving half their sentences.“He said it was a 'public safety’ issue. No it’s not,” said bill sponsor Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff (R-Fort Lauderdale) according to the Miami Herald. “These are non-violent drug offenders.”The bill, a rare common sense favorite during a legislative season that saw Scott approve dying animals and Jay-Z lyrics debated on the House floor, was opposed by only four state lawmakers. (credit:AP)
Docs. vs. Glocks(14 of19)
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Gov. Scott pushed back when a federal judge ruled a law gagging Florida physicians from asking patients if they owned guns unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge cited the government-imposed gag order as a violation of free speech protection under the First Amendment. (credit:AP)
Scott's Boletera?(15 of19)
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Campaign finance reports show Florida Governor Rick Scott -- who framed recent evidence-defying efforts to purge state voter rolls, limit registration and reduce early voting hours as a protection of "honest" elections -- hired an alleged Miami-Dade absentee ballot broker during his 2010 gubernatorial campaign.Scott's campaign paid a $5,000 "contract labor" fee to 74-year-old Hialeah resident Emelina Llanes, who was identified as a so-called boletera to the Miami Herald and by El Nuevo Herald, multiple Miami-Dade watchdog blogs, and former Hialeah Police Chief Rolando Bolaños. (credit:AP)
Closes TB Hospital(16 of19)
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In an austerity measure, Florida Gov. Rick Scott and state representatives voted to close A.G. Holley State Hospital in Palm Beach County, the state's only tuberculosis hospital, citing a decline in Florida TB cases since 2010.But according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida was suffering one of the largest uncontained TB outbreaks in 20 years -- and the largest spike nationwide -- resulting in 13 deaths and 99 illnesses, mostly among the homeless. (credit:AP)
Gives Out Number For Sex Hotline(17 of19)
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Florida governor Rick Scott accidentally sent constituents seeking information on a fungal meningitis outbreak to a phone sex hotline. (credit:AP)
Vetoed Funding For Mass Animal Deaths Research(18 of19)
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The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University was counting on $2 million in state funds to study the dead pelicans, manatees, and dolphins piling up at Indian River Lagoon, described as a 'killing zone.' Scott vetoed the funding. (credit:Getty Images)
Sped Up Death Penalty(19 of19)
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Scott signed a law that will speed up Florida's execution process. The governor now must sign a death warrant within 30 days of the Supreme Court certifying that an inmate has exhausted all appeals. The execution date must be six months from the date of the warrant. (credit:AP)
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