Gov. Rick Scott and top lawmakers on Friday agreed to a special legislative session to be held next week, the result of a grand bargain that promises to salvage much of the governor's economic development agenda.

  • Special Session in Tallahassee, June 7-9
  • Lawmakers will pump up funding for Visit Florida, Enterprise Florida
  • Increased education funding, no veto of controversial education bill
  • Medical marijuana may be included
  • RELATED: Gov. Scott's Veto List

Scott's priorities of maintaining funding for business incentives and tourism promotion were all but discarded during the regular legislative session, with House Speaker Richard Corcoran (R-Land O'Lakes) declaring victory in his fight to eliminate "corporate welfare."

As it stood, Enterprise Florida's business incentive budget had been zeroed out and Visit Florida's budget had been cut by two-thirds.

"There needs to be legislation that allows us to market our state for tourism and grow jobs while maintaining these important principals," Scott said Friday. "I look forward to working with the legislature during the upcoming special session to achieve these important goals for Florida families."

Under the agreement announced Friday, Visit Florida's current level of funding -- $76 million -- would be restored and Enterprise Florida would receive $85 million for its business development initiatives. In return, Scott has pledged not to veto HB 7069, a contentious education bill containing Corcoran's prized Schools of Hope program to subsidize building charter schools in areas served by failing public schools.

In a Miami appearance with Scott, Corcoran denied the deal undermines his commitment to ridding state government of economic development programs he argued ran counter to free market principles. His fellow House Republicans contended the framework unveiled Friday would include tight controls on how incentive dollars are spent.

"The grants that are going to be set up are going to be to fund economic development, infrastructure projects that don't pick -- as we all say and you've heard -- winners and losers," said Rep. Colleen Burton (R-Lakeland). "What they pick are programs that provide training, that provide the essential infrastructure for all businesses to grow."

But critics suggested the rhetoric praising the deal amounted to doublespeak, pointing out that Senate leaders had offered the incentive program restrictions during earlier negotiations, only to see them rejected by Corcoran and his deputies.

"It's a shame the House wouldn't negotiate during the regular session," Sen. Jack Latvala (R-Clearwater), the Senate's budget chief, wrote in a tweet. "Now we have to spend $30,000 a day on a special session."

Legislative leaders have also agreed to boost per-pupil public education spending by $100. The increase would be paid for with money freed up by the $410 million in spending Scott vetoed from the state budget Friday.

The state teacher union, however, decried the deal as Tallahassee politics as usual. The charter school program narrowly passed the Senate and Scott had been heavily lobbied to veto the legislation on the grounds that it would divert funding from public schools.

"The governor and the legislative leaders who cooked up these changes and called for a special session are not addressing the needs of the parents and students in this state," said Florida Education Association President Joanne McCall.

The agreement figures to play prominently in the already lively 2018 campaign. It could hurt Scott's standing with public education advocates as he readies for an expected U.S. Senate campaign, and the Democrats vying to succeed him in the Governor's Mansion wasted little time in pouncing.

"This is a gift to Betsy DeVos and the education industry — not our public school system," said Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gwen Graham. "Make no mistake, their proposal will not increase spending — it's another shell game."

While the governor was largely silent on the prospect of adding medical marijuana to the special session agenda, legislative leaders say it now appears likely.

Talks over implementing Amendment 2 broke down in the closing hours of the regular session last month, but Capitol sources say a compromise is close at hand.

If implementation legislation isn't passed by July 2, the Scott administration would be empowered to devise its own medical marijuana regulations, a worst-case scenario in the eyes of the amendment's supporters.