On Friday, Gov. Rick Scott suspended his ban on the commencement of construction work of a commuter rail system in central Florida. The rail system, which is a $1.2 billion project, has strong support from the the business community and Representative John L. Mica, a Republican, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, but faces opposition from Tea Party activists and other critics.
According to Scott, the main issue was that the local governments would be compelled to bear the revenue shortfalls if any, after seven years of operation. Still, he said that he was forced to approved the project as its supporters had warned to sue the state because the spending had already received approval by the Legislature.