"I'm not comfortable this is a project we should be doing," Scott said at a news conference in Tallahassee after a phone conversation with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the St. Petersburg Times reported.

Scott said he was not sure high-speed rail would bring taxpayers a return on their investment, and he felt money would be better spent on state highway and seaport improvements.

Florida Senate budget chairman J.D. Alexander said the governor doesn't have the authority to unilaterally cancel the project.

"The [Florida] Constitution doesn't allow the governor to not spend appropriations funds" and there is $300 million in state funds appropriated to put into development of the rail line, Alexander said. If the governor wants to cancel the project and turn away federal funds, he will need the approval of the Legislative Budget Commission, he said.

The Legislature authorized the state to pursue federal funding for a high-speed-rail project between Orlando and Tampa during a 2009 special session.

Scott took office last month. He becomes the third new Republican governor to announce rejection of federal grants for high-speed and intercity passenger rail lines in their states. Ohio and Wisconsin's newly elected governors made similar announcements late last year, and LaHood responded by redirecting $1.2 billion in rail grants to other states. (see Dec. 10 AASHTO Journal story)

The Tampa-Orlando line was to be the showcase first segment of President Barack Obama's vision to connect major American cities with high-speed trains over the next 25 years. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden went to Tampa a year ago to announce the first round of grant awards. (see Jan. 29, 2010, AASHTO Journal story)

In a Wednesday afternoon briefing with reporters, White House press secretary Jay Carney called Scott's move "unfortunate." He cited considerable bipartisan support for modernizing the nation's infrastructure "to enable us to compete. High-speed rail is very much a part of that."

LaHood issued a statement Wednesday expressing disappointment in Scott's decision.

"It is projects like these that will help America out-build our global competitors and lay the foundation needed to win the future," LaHood said. "This project could have supported thousands of good-paying jobs for Floridians and helped grow Florida businesses, all while alleviating congestion on Florida's highways. Nevertheless, there is overwhelming demand for high-speed rail in other states that are enthusiastic to receive Florida's funding and the economic benefits it can deliver, such as manufacturing and construction jobs, as well as private development along its corridors."

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica, R-Florida, said in a statement that he urged the governor Wednesday morning to reconsider his rejection of federal funding.

Scott said his decision was based on "three main economic realities." First, he said, cost overruns for the project could put Florida taxpayers on the hook for an additional $3 billion.

Second, ridership and revenue projections are historically overly optimistic, he said, and would likely result in ongoing subsidies from state taxpayers.

And finally, if the project becomes too costly for taxpayers and is shut down, the state would have to return the $2.4 billion in federal funding.

In his letter to LaHood, Scott wrote, "I believe that the dollars being made available for proposed high-speed rail projects are better invested in higher-yield projects like those we have discussed in the past few weeks."

Those include the widening of Interstate 275 in Hillsborough County; transportation improvements in Miami; the widening of Interstate 4 in Orange County; and upgrades to seaports in Miami, Port Everglades, and Jacksonville.

Scott's full statement and letter to LaHood are available at bit.ly/ScottHSR0216.