A newly-formed political action committee in Orange County wants to make sure that all big venue projects paid for with local tourist taxes go to voters first for approval.
Former state House candidate Sean Ashby said he filed paperwork to form the new PAC this afternoon, though he declined to say who was financing the effort.
The goal of the PAC, he said, is to put a ballot measure to voters in the August 2014 primary that, if approved, would require any future public venues that get paid for with local tourist tax collections to face an up-or-down vote from residents first.
“It’s got to go to the people,” Ashby said.
The new PAC, named Citizens for Informed Elections, seems to respond to criticisms that emerged in 2007 around the plans by business and tourism leaders to use the lucrative bed tax to pay for a new Amway Center arena, Citrus Bowl upgrades and a new arts center.
Click here for the story in the Orlando Sentinel
