In the Florida Legislature, the state’s largest energy companies wield extraordinary influence.
The four largest Florida energy companies — Duke Energy, Florida Power & Light, TECO Energy and Gulf Power — employ one lobbyist for every two members of the Florida Legislature. These four companies spent more than $12 million on lobbying between 2007 and 2013.
Electric utility companies have also spent more than $18 million on campaign contributions to Florida races since 2004.
In exchange for their generous campaign contributions and lobbying budgets, these massive energy companies receive highly favorable treatment from Florida’s elected officials.
In 2006, the legislature allowed Duke Energy to raise rates significantly to pay for a $1.5 billion nuclear power plant. Although Duke recently canceled construction on the plant, the company was allowed to keep all the money from the rate increase, which included more than $150 million in net profit.
Furthermore, the legislature continues to allow Duke and the other utility companies to collect the increased energy fees without disclosing the status of canceled projects.
A report from Integrity Florida, a political watchdog group, found that Duke Energy spent $300,000 on lobbying in favor of the rate increase and another $3.6 million in campaign contributions to key lawmakers.
The $4 million Duke Energy spent to ensure favorable treatment by the legislature was a mere pittance compared to the massive profit it collected from Florida taxpayers.
The energy companies have also used the revolving-door strategy of influence, in which former Florida public officials are hired for high-paying positions within the businesses. These individuals then return to Tallahassee to lobby their former colleagues to ensure favorable treatment for their new employers.
This system of corruption and greed works very well for its main beneficiaries: Florida’s elected officials and the utility companies.
Unfortunately, in this broken system of corporate influence, Florida taxpayers are forgotten, ignored and taken advantage of.
Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said the influence of utility companies on the Florida Legislature amounts to “pay-for-play politics that is not in the best interests of consumers.” SACE provided a grant that enabled Integrity Florida to publish its report on corporate influence in Florida politics.
According to Integrity Florida’s report, 18 former state officials have current connections to FPL, either as salaried employees or as lobbyists at firms that represent the company. The report also found that five former members of the Public Service Commission, the state body largely responsible for regulation of utility companies, are also employed by FPL.
The current PSC has never voted against a rate increase requested by the four major energy companies and has consistently upheld the right of the utilities to collect fees for nuclear plants.
The power and influence of the utility companies on Florida policymakers is just one example of the “crony capitalism” that runs rampant in Tallahassee. Pro-gun groups such as the NRA and other special interest groups, including real-estate developers, determine which policies prevail in the legislature and which are defeated.
There are no simple answers to the problem of corporate influence on the Florida government. In its report, Integrity Florida suggests demanding increased disclosure of political contributions and strengthening ethics rules. However, these are long-term reforms that become less feasible as the legislature grows increasingly corrupt.
Voting out Gov. Rick Scott, who has acted as a loyal servant of wealthy and corporate interests, would be an excellent start to the process of ending Florida’s system of crony capitalism.
[Elliot Levy is a UF political science and public relations junior. His columns appear on Wednesdays. A version of this column ran on page 6 on 4/16/2014 under the headline "Energy companies bring ‘crony capitalism’"]
