Gov. Rick Scott had the legal authority to veto money to pay residents for healthy citrus trees that the state cut down in an effort to eradicate citrus canker, but some state Supreme Court justices admonished him Thursday for doing so. The court threw out a petition filed by Broward and Lee County residents attempting to overturn Scott’s veto of a budget item to compensate them for lost trees. Three of the seven justices expressed dismay that Scott took the action and that residents still haven’t been compensated more than a decade after their trees were cut down. Justice Fred Lewis disagreed with dismissing the petition and said it was “a sad day for Florida citizens.” He said they have a constitutional right to be compensated when government takes their property, and the court failed them for not overturning Scott’s veto. A spokesman for Scott said there are still unsettled lawsuits filed by residents elsewhere in Florida, and that’s why he vetoed the money.
