Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

Aaron Sharockman
By Aaron Sharockman January 7, 2011
Amy Sherman
By Amy Sherman January 7, 2011

The cost of Florida's new governor? 1 penny

Who needs a government paycheck when you're already a multimillionaire?

During his 2010 campaign for governor, Republican Rick Scott -- owner of a chain of urgent care clinics and former CEO of hospital chain Columbia/HCA -- said that if elected, he would skip the paycheck.

"That's not important to me," Scott said in a July 2010 radio interview in Jacksonville. "I'm really not doing it for the salary."

On Jan. 6, 2011, Scott followed through, announcing that he would be taking a salary of $.01.

The governor's annual salary as of July 1, 2010, is $130,273, according to the state General Appropriations Act. But that act also states that the salary can be reduced voluntarily, according to John Bennett, the state's chief of the Bureau of State Payrolls. The governor typically gets paid monthly, with his first paycheck scheduled for Jan. 31, 2011.

Scott reported a net wealth of more than $218 million in June, but a St. Petersburg Times review found that Scott is likely worth much more. He has tucked away at least tens of millions of dollars in a trust under his wife's name and in a family limited partnership -- holdings that are not required to be part of his financial disclosure.

Lauren Engel, a spokeswoman with the Department of Management Services, said Scott was taking a $.01 a year salary only so that he could be listed in the state personnel system for accounting purposes. Scott also is paying for his own health care, a spokeswoman told the Orlando Sentinel.

The penny being an obvious technicality, we rate this a Promise Kept.

Our Sources

Latest Fact-checks