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Governor ups the recruiting ante

Without naming any names, he asks for more than $300-million to help land businesses considering a move to Florida.

By KRIS HUNDLEYand AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published August 4, 2006

Gov. Jeb Bush gave a hint of how he wants to spend the state's new honey pot of incentive funds - and then some - in his request Thursday for a total of more than $300-million to recruit at least two unidentified companies to Florida.

The governor's recommendation to the Legislative Budget Commission nearly matched the $310-million he earmarked three years ago for California's Scripps Research Institute, resulting in its campus on Florida's East coast and unleashing a flood of interest from other private and public enterprises for similar incentives.

Now Bush wants $150-million from the state's general revenue for what is described simply as "an innovation incentive project."

In addition, he is requesting $155.27-million from the incentive money approved by the Legislature during the most recent session to attract an unidentified venture dubbed "Project Power." It is described only as a "high-value research development and innovation business project" that is under negotiations and "anticipated to be closed in the near future."

The governor's request did not say where either of the new ventures would be located in the state.

State Rep. Joe Negron, a Republican from Stuart who is chairman of the 12-member budget committee, said he had not yet gone over specifics of the governor's proposal. But he hinted that California-based Burnham Institute for Medical Research, which is considering an expansion to Florida, is one of the candidates. He also suggested that his committee members may be lobbying to add other recipients before the agenda is set for the Aug. 17 meeting.

"My goal is to do what I can to attract Burnham and other high-wage-paying businesses to Florida," said Negron, whose committee has final approval over the allocations. "But prior to our meeting, there's still room to fine-tune the details."

In addition to Burnham, a Southern California neighbor of Scripps in La Jolla that is being aggressively courted by Port St. Lucie and Orlando, at least three other parties are vying for state incentive money, including:

- SRI International, a Menlo Park, Calif., nonprofit that commercializes university research and has discussed opening a 40-person operation in St. Petersburg with the University of South Florida's Center for Ocean Technology;

- Home Depot, the Atlanta home-improvement retailer, which is being recruited to open its Supply Division headquarters, serving professional contractors, in Orlando;

- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, also in La Jolla, which is considering opening a lab in Boca Raton.

A spokesman for Gov. Bush's office declined to comment further on the request, citing the confidential nature of business recruiting efforts.

Two budget commission members, Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, and Rep. Ron Greenstein, D-Coconut Creek, said they had not seen the governor's request and were unaware what companies would receive the money.

In St. Petersburg, city officials continued to decline to speak about the prospects of SRI, saying they had signed a confidentially agreement. And none of the parties vying for the state money have been willing to comment on the competition for dollars.

Dr. Richard Houghten, president of Torrey Pines Institute, which jumped into the running only in the past few months, said, "That's not the number we're putting out, so it's probably not us, but I imagine we'll hear fairly soon. The clock is ticking."

Houghten, whose lab said it needs $90-million to open a branch in Florida, said he was intrigued by the state's eagerness to attract biotech. "It's going to benefit Florida in the long term. It's real clear to me," he said.

At its meeting, the Legislative Budget Commission was expected to be divvying up $245-million in "Innovation" and "Quick Action Closing" funds which were approved by the legislature in the spring. Under Bush's proposal, those funds will still have about $90-million remaining after his request is fulfilled, which he will be able to tap as opportunities arise.

But Bush apparently sought to increase the total amount of incentives available by tapping reserves from the state's general revenue. He reportedly also asked the state's university presidents to chip in to make up any short-falls in incentives, specifically in order to make the Burnham deal a reality.

Florida State University president T.K. Wetherell told the Palm Beach Post, "We don't need to lose an institution like Burnham for a mere $30-million, so we're willing to put up $10-million ... to bring that to fruition."

Times staff writer Joni James contributed to this report. Aaron Sharockman can be reached at asharockman@sptimes.com or 727 892-2273. Kris Hundley can be reached at hundley@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2996.

[Last modified August 4, 2006, 01:11:12]