Gov. Rick Scott told a Spanish-language station in South Florida on Friday he would sign the
anti-Castro business bill that has been opposed by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, according to the Miami Herald.
Scott informed listeners of
WAQI-AM 710, Radio Mambí, he would travel to Miami on Tuesday to sign House Bill 959,
according to the Miami Herald.
The governor’s office has yet to respond for comment Friday.
Scott has until May 5 to sign the bill.
The bill signing is sure to please anti-Castro Miamians, including the Republican legislators from South Florida who sponsored the legislation, who have waited decades for the fall of Communist Party leadership in Cuba.
However, the Florida Chamber of Commerce has said the bill could harm economic growth in Florida as it prohibits companies with business operations in Cuba or Syria from bidding or entering into contracts worth $1 million or more with government agencies in Florida.
The state would also have to include provisions to void contracts with businesses that become engaged in trade with the two nations.
The chamber said that could scare off two of Florida’s largest trading partners, Canada and Brazil, both of which maintain ties with the island nation.
Chamber president Mark Wilson has also questioned whether it is constitutional for Florida to establish its own foreign policy separately from the federal government.
The attorney general’s office has not responded to a request from Thursday as to whether the office has determined or is researching if such a law would be constitutional.
