The Florida House is pushing for more transparency in local tourism and economic development agencies. Leading the way is Port Charlotte Republican Michael Grant, who drafted a measures that would put new oversight on local development agencies. As part of his plan, any contract over $250,000 would have to be approved by the local board of county commissioners, anything over $5,000 would have to be published on the county website. House lawmakers claim they want to rein in the use of trade secret protections to hide contracts between the government and private entities. That provision comes after a formerly secret $1 million contract signed between Visit Florida and rapper Pitbull came out last year.
