Tallahassee. FL (AP) -- February 14, 2012 --
Majority Republicans have added an anti-union provision to a bill giving Florida businesses tax breaks totaling $121.1 million a year.
They actually added the provision multiple times during House floor debate Tuesday to quash Democratic amendments to the measure (HB 7087).
The tit-for-tat was a prelude to a final vote set Wednesday.
Most of the Democratic proposals would have let businesses benefit from an increased exemption to Florida's corporate income tax only if they met certain criteria.
Those included providing employee health insurance for same-sex partners, proving they don't discriminate against veterans and using a federal database to screen out illegal immigrants when hiring.
In each case, Republicans substituted a provision allowing companies to get the tax break only if they have no union employees.
