(The following appeared on the Orlando Sentinel website on March 3, 2011.)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court waded into the state’s high-speed rail fight Thursday to decide whether Gov. Rick Scott overstepped his authority when he scrapped a $2.7 billion fast train project last month.
Sens. Thad Altman, R-Viera, and Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, sued the governor earlier this week, claiming Scott was overstepping his power by scuttling the rail deal, because lawmakers had committed in 2009 to accepting and spending federal funds to build the Orlando-to-Tampa project.
But over the course of a 45-minute hearing, the justices repeatedly expressed reservations about weighing in on a dispute between legislators who authorized rail spending and a new governor who has decided it is a bad investment.
The full story is on the Orlando Sentinel website.