Article Courtesy of The Orlando Sentinel

By Gray Rohrer

Published June 4, 2017

TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Rick Scott on Friday sealed a grand bargain with legislative leaders that will beef up funding for public education, tourism marketing and economic development, areas that bedeviled lawmakers during the regular session.

The deal could cool off – at least for now – a civil war among Florida’s Republicans.

Lawmakers will return to the Capitol next week for a three-day special session to add $215 million for PreK-12 schools, as well as more money for Visit Florida and a new incentive program for businesses — all top priorities for Scott.
 

But the pair congratulated each other at a news conference in Miami announcing the deal.

“I appreciate the fact that people fight for what they believe in,” Scott said. “I feel good about the conversations that we’ve had.’’

Democrats blasted the deal as a behind-the-scenes giveaway to charter schools that wastes time and money on a special session.

“That politicians in positions of leadership are willing to sell out our public schools by approving the creation of a $140 million slush fund for private charter school operators in exchange for an $85 million slush fund for corporate welfare is the epitome of everything that people despise about politics,” House Democratic Leader Janet Cruz of Tampa said.

Scores of projects for universities across the state were among those vetoed by Scott, with the University of Central Florida losing $2 million for the downtown campus, $3.9 million for the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts and $3.5 million for the Istation business program.

The biggest items to draw Scott’s veto pen were $37.4 million in payouts to homeowners who lost citrus trees due to state attempts to eradicate the citrus canker disease, a $15 million plan to put an overpass on Interstate 75 north of Wesley Chapel in Pasco County and a $14 million school uniforms incentive program.

During the special session, lawmakers will put an extra $215 million into schools on top of the original $24 billion budget, increasing the amount of funding by $125 per student over the current year, instead of just $25 in the original budget.

Lawmakers will also put $76 million into Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing agency, maintaining its current year funding. The original budget passed by lawmakers last month included $25 million for the group.

A new program will also set aside $85 million to help lure companies, but the money cannot be used as an incentive for a specific company. Instead, it will be spent on workforce training as well as infrastructure such as roads.

The program, called the Florida Job Growth Fund, will be part of the Department of Economic Opportunity. Scott didn’t specify how the program and the money will be used differently than the state’s existing programs for job training and infrastructure funding.

“All these [programs] together, if you add them up I think it puts us in a competitive position to continue to grow jobs in our state,” Scott said. “It’s just a variety of things in the tool kit to create an environment where people can get a job.”

Corcoran had wanted to eliminate funding for Visit Florida and Enterprise Florida, the state agency responsible for incentive deals to entice companies to add jobs in the state.

But he also pushed heavily for Scott to sign HB 7069, an education bill that provides $419 million to help charter schools compete against chronically failing public schools and gives teachers bonuses based on student performance.

The Florida Education Association, the largest teachers’ union in the state, bashed the deal as unfair to traditional public schools despite the additional funding.

“Unless the governor vetoes HB 7069, there isn’t enough money to offset the incredible damage that will hit our public schools,” said FEA president Joanne McCall. “The 2.7 million students in our traditional public schools will pay the price so that operators of for-profit charters, that serve a small fraction of that number of students, can get a financial benefit.”

For his part, Scott said he was still reviewing HB 7069 and it wasn’t a done deal that he would sign it. Before Friday he had criticized lawmakers for writing the bill behind closed doors in the final days of the session. Scott didn’t mention any of those concerns Friday.

Some Republicans also were frustrated the deal couldn’t be reached during the regular session. Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, who has said he’s considering running for governor in 2018, has backed Scott’s push for more economic development funds. He chided the House and Corcoran, who is also considering a gubernatorial run.

“It's a shame the House wouldn't negotiate during the regular session. Now we have to spend $60-70k a day on a special session,” Latvala posted on Twitter.

Since 2000, the Florida Legislature has held more than 20 special sessions costing the state an average of $51,381 per day, according to state records.

By returning for a special session, lawmakers could tackle other unfinished business, such as setting up regulations for medical marijuana. Although 71 percent of voters approved medical cannabis last year, legislators failed to set up a regulatory framework for the new industry.

The official call issued by Scott for a special session will not include medical marijuana, but Corcoran said negotiations between the House and Senate are still ongoing, and the issue could still be added to the scope of the special session.

Scott said the deal will benefit all parties.

“I think everybody wins here. Students in our state win, people that want a better paying job. Everybody wins,” Scott said.