Florida Governor Orders Agencies Not to Keep Federal Programs Running

Ten days into a partial shutdown of the federal government that has no signs of easing, Gov. Rick Scott’s chief of staff ordered that no state funds will be used to offset any federal programs that run out of cash as a result of the federal gridlock.

READ: Full coverage of shutdown's impact on states and localities
In a draft letter directed to the governor’s agencies, Adam Hollingsworth, Scott’s chief of staff, said that absent a federal resolution, “it is important that we ensure that state funds are not committed as a temporary backfill to federal programs as a matter of course.”

A day after more than 100 fishing guides, kayakers and paddle board operators held a rally to protest the closure of the Everglades National Park, the governor also rejected calls to use state funds to open closed federal parks in Florida.

The federal government said Thursday it will allow states to use their own money to reopen some national parks. Governors in Utah, South Dakota, Arizona and Colorado have suggested they will do that, even though it is uncertain whether they will get reimbursed.