Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed legislation directing about $750 million in annual gaming tax revenue generated under the 2021 compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida for land acquisition, wildlife preservation and waterway protection.
At a news conference at South Florida Water Management District headquarters, DeSantis said, “The compact is in place, and we’re getting revenue share and that’s good. So what are we going to do with that? We are going to dedicate the bulk of the revenue to these restoration programs. So we are looking at about $750 million a year to the state just from the Seminole Tribe gaming compact. That’s a lot of resources.”
The legislation allowing the arrangement, a priority of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, was passed unanimously this year in both the House and Senate. Under the bill, in 2024-2025, 96 percent of revenue from the 2021 gaming compact between the Seminole Tribe and the state will go to the following environmental projects:
- $150 million to the South Florida Water Management District for operations and maintenance.
- $100 million for the management of uplands and the removal of invasive species.
- $100 million for land acquisitions to support the wildlife corridor.
- $100 million to the DEP to the Resilient Florida Trust Fund.
- $79 million for the Water Quality Improvement Grant Program.
The gaming compact, signed in 2021 by DeSantis and Seminole Tribe Chairman Marcellus W. Osceola Jr., requires the tribe to make a guaranteed minimum payment for the agreement’s first five years, for a total of $2.5 billion.
At the news conference, Osceola said, “A lot of people have asked the tribe, myself included, how was that money going to be spent with the gaming compact. Tell the state, ‘They need to do this, they need to do that.’ I think that the state and the tribe have worked together because we’re not going anywhere. The tribe is always going to be part of the state. And the state is always going to be here. Myself and the governor may not be in these elected positions, but the tribe and the state will always be a great partner and be the only partners that each other should have going forward to protect all of the natural resources.”
Following the signing ceremony, DeSantis extolled his administration’s record on the environment since his election in 2019.
He said, “Democrats have gone down the direction of saying everything is tied to so-called climate change to where they want you out of your car, they don’t want normal gas vehicles anymore. They want to impose a lot of burdens on people. Do you want to pay more for things right now? With everything that’s happening? That’s ultimately a very expensive agenda, where some people are going to make a lot of money off this. But working people are going to get hammered on that.”
DeSantis did not specify whether he meant Democrats in Florida or Washington, D.C.
