Gov. Rick Scott and House Speaker Richard Corcoran haven't exactly gotten along so well the past few months.
But after appearing Friday with Senate President Joe Negron to announce a special legislative session and the outline of a budget deal, Scott and Corcoran were focused on the winners.
“I think everybody wins here,” Scott told reporters. “The students in our state win. People who want a job, want a better-paying job, everybody wins.”
Corcoran, R-Land O' Lakes, chimed in with a statement released by his office.
"The people of Florida should be proud today that you can have leaders with competing opinions and still compromise to meet common goals --- government in Florida is working and the biggest winners are all Floridians,” he said.
But with lawmakers scheduled to come back for a three-day special session starting Wednesday, not everybody felt like a winner. Democrats and their allies blasted Scott and Republican legislative leaders for reaching a “backroom” deal and scoffed at the notion that public schools would come out winners.
“This special session is a farce being inflicted upon the people of Florida,” House Minority Leader Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, said in a prepared statement. “While politicians' priorities are being served, the people of Florida will continue to suffer.”
The House and Senate last month approved an $82.4 billion budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. But Scott and other people on both sides of the aisle criticized the budget and closely tied bills dealing with education and economic development.
Scott was particularly perturbed that Corcoran refused to fund business incentives through the economic-development agency Enterprise Florida and slashed funding for tourism-marketer Visit Florida. Major education groups, meanwhile, bashed the Legislature for not providing enough money for public schools and for funneling money to a charter-school initiative that has been a top priority of Corcoran.
With Scott armed with veto power, it became apparent that lawmakers would come back for a special session --- the question was when. The Legislature formally sent the budget to Scott on Wednesday and, presto, Scott, Corcoran and Negron announced the outline of the deal Friday morning.
The basics are that lawmakers would pump an additional $215 million into public schools, provide $76 million that Scott wanted for Visit Florida and create an $85 million “Florida Job Growth Grant Fund,” which would provide money for infrastructure projects and job training.
The $85 million fund would allow Scott to claim a victory in his quest for economic-development funding. But Corcoran tried to make clear that he hadn't backed down on his opposition to providing money for business incentives --- which he has repeatedly derided as “corporate welfare.”
“Working with the governor, we have developed a path forward that will allow Florida to invest in economic growth without relying on inefficient corporate welfare policies,” Corcoran said in a memo to House members.
`IT ONLY TAKES ONE'
The 2016 hurricane season didn't include any mammoth storms like Andrew or cause widespread destruction like the 2004 and 2005 storms that barreled across the state.
But it was bad enough to provide a wakeup call. After more than a decade without a hurricane hitting the state, Hermine made landfall in September south of Tallahassee. A little more than a month later, Matthew caused extensive damage in Northeast Florida, though it didn't make landfall in the state.
With that in mind, Floridians began the 2017 hurricane season Thursday hoping they will avoid a hit during the next six months.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in a forecast released last week, predicted a season that would be similarly active to last year, based on warm sea-surface temperatures and a weak El Nino ocean-atmosphere pattern. The federal agency is predicting 11 to 17 named storms, five to nine hurricanes and two to four major storms.
The forecast will be updated in early August, right before the peak of the hurricane season, which runs until Nov. 30.
"Regardless of how many storms develop this year, it only takes one to disrupt our lives," said Robert Fenton, acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Bryan Koon, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said Floridians' experience with Matthew and Hermine last year might heighten their awareness of the new hurricane season.
“Those folks will have that memory fresh in their minds,” Koon said. “Matthew was such a big storm that it threatened much of the state at some point during its existence.”
BOTTLE CAPS AND BUGS
As if concerns about hurricanes weren't bad enough, Floridians got another thing to worry about last year, thanks to that unofficial state bird --- the mosquito.
Hundreds of Floridians were infected by the mosquito-borne Zika virus, with many of the problems focused in Miami-Dade County. Zika is particularly dangerous to pregnant women because it can cause severe birth defects.
With the humid summer season just starting, Scott and state Surgeon General Celeste Philip met with Orange County health-department officials this week to discuss Zika prevention efforts. Philip warned that little water is needed for mosquitoes carrying the disease to survive and breed.
“These types of mosquitoes like to live close to people, so some of the factors regarding precipitation and heavy rains are different,” Philip said. “We are still concerned that a small amount of water, say a bottle cap, is sufficient for breeding to occur.”
Also, the warm winter may have aided the survival of many of the eggs from the type of mosquito that carries the virus.
“We all have to be part of this,” Scott said. “No standing water. Wear bug repellant. Wear protective clothing.”
STORY OF THE WEEK: Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders announced a special session next week to finalize a budget deal.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Let's get `er done.” --- Orlando lawyer John Morgan, in a tweet, urging lawmakers to pass a medical-marijuana bill during a special session next week.
