Rick Scott's Proposed Legislation Has Cost Florida Nearly A Million Dollars To Date

Legal challenges to legislation proposed by governor Rick Scott have so far cost Florida nearly a million dollars, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

While the paper notes that previous administrations have also faced legal challenges, Scott's $888,317.51 bill from fighting lawsuits by the ACLU, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and other organizations reportedly "far exceeds" tallies covered on behalf of Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist.

Below, Scott's four most expensive legal fights to date, as determined by the Sentinel (read the full story for more details):

• Retirement plans: $533,911.25 (including $499,288.25 to an Atlanta firm)
• Voting overhaul: $144,971.75 (all to a Washington D.C. firm)
• Welfare drug tests: $88,782.80
• Healthcare overhaul: $69,827.21

Exactly how wasteful is the spending? Flagler Live took the Governor to task last fall as costs began to balloon:

Almost all the laws have one thing in common (other than being challenged as unconstitutional or found unconstitutional): They weren’t written to address any legitimate problem. Study after study found no rampant voter fraud, welfare recipients aren’t all a bunch of drug addicts, and there is no great medical conspiracy to do away with the Second Amendment.

Perhaps equally alarming for Floridians as a governor proposing legislation of dubious legality, questionable permissibility, or apparent regular old unconstitutionality is that none of the cases has yet been decided -- meaning the costs to fight for Scott's proposals will only continue to increase.