TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments Aug. 29 in a challenge to Gov. Rick Scott’s veto of pay raises for state firefighters.
The court, which decided in January to take up the case, issued an order Friday scheduling oral arguments.
The International Association of Firefighters Local S-20 went to the Supreme Court last summer after the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that Scott's veto of $2,000 pay raises did not violate collective-bargaining rights.
The appeals court found that Scott acted within his authority to veto spending items in the state budget -- and that lawmakers could have overridden the veto but did not.
The veto followed a series of events that included a bargaining impasse on a union request for $1,500 pay raises for the 2015-2016 fiscal year, according to the appeals court.
The Legislature resolved the impasse by including $2,000 raises for firefighters in budget fine print known as “proviso” language, which Scott subsequently vetoed.