As former Florida Governor Jeb Bush prepares to make an announcement about his future this coming Monday, many of his claims about his time as the leader of the Sunshine State are being run through the Truth-O-Meter by our partners at PolitiFact. During a recent trip to New Hampshire, the former governor talked about what happened financially in Florida under his leadership. On the topic of the state's insurance rating, Bush said this:
"Florida was the only state during my eight years to go from AA to AAA" in its bond rating.
PolitiFact went to the archives to see if this claim was accurate. PolitiFact reporter Joshua Gillin says that Bush's claim rates FALSE on the Truth-O-Meter, but only because of the way Bush framed his claim.
"Here's the background on this claim: we're talking about the General Obligation Debt Rating, which is the analysis of whether or not the state can pay off its debts," said Gillin. "Bush was Governor from 1999 to 2006, and during that time, the state did go from a AA+ rating, not AA as Bush said, to an AAA rating, as rated by Standard & Poor's Rating Service. That is a fairly impressive feat."
Gillin said, though, that Bush runs into a problem when he compares Florida to all of the other states. "The problem is that Bush was in office beginning in 1999 and a year later, in 2000, two states, Delaware and Michigan, had the same kind of rating upgrade," said Gillin. "Had Bush clarified to say that the upgrade happened between 2001 and 2006, he would have been completely accurate, but because he cited the timeframe as 'while he was governor,' the statement falters."
Data supplied by Standard & Poor's shows that Florida was not the only state to have a rating upgrade between 1999 and 2006, so Jeb Bush's claim rates FALSE on the Truth-O-Meter.
SOURCES: Florida's bond rating under former Gov. Jeb Bush
- PolitiFact ruling
- Audio of Bush business roundtable in Portsmouth, N.H., May 20, 2015
- Standard & Poor’s Rating Services, "Florida: Tax Secured, General Obligation," Feb. 25, 2005
- Free Republic, "Wall Street upgrades Florida debt rating," Feb. 26, 2005
- Insurance Journal, "S&P Upgrades Fla. Rating From AA+ to AAA," March 1, 2005
- South Florida Business Journal, "Bush calls for look at growth management in address," March 8, 2005
- Florida Department of Financial Services, "Florida Comprehensive Annual Financial Report: Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2005," Feb. 8, 2006
- VoteSmart.org, "Florida Maintains ‘AAA’ Bond Rating in Annual Review by Standard and Poor's Corporation," Oct. 3, 2006
- Florida Department of Financial Services, "Florida Comprehensive Annual Financial Report: Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2006," Jan. 31, 2007
- PolitiFact Florida, "The country's credit rating is down, but is Florida's up?," Aug. 17, 2011
- Tax Foundation, "Monday Map: State Credit Ratings," Nov. 11, 2013
- Pew Charitable Trusts, "Infographic: S&P State Credit Ratings, 2001–2014," June 9, 2014
- PunditFact, "Claim: New Jersey has had 7 credit downgrades since Chris Christie took office," Nov. 9, 2014
- Des Moines Register, "Jeb Bush's record as governor of Florida," March 6, 2015
- Tampa Bay Times, "What you don't know about Jeb Bush's economic record," May 1, 2015
- Standard & Poor’s Rating Services, "History of U.S. State Ratings," May 21, 2015
- Interview with Matt Gorman, Right to Rise spokesman, May 22, 2015
- Interview with Alex Ortolani, Standard & Poor’s Rating Services spokesman, May 22, 2015
- Interview with Scott Pattison, National Association of State Budget Directors executive director, May 22, 2015
- Interview with Dennis MacKee, Florida State Board of Administration communications director, May 22, 2015