In Florida, the House Commerce Committee recently approved in a 9-6 vote HB 7067, the 83-page gambling bill sponsored by Tourism & Gaming Control Chairman Mike LaRosa. The bill now will move to the House floor. Like the Senate bill, SB 840, it includes ratifying a 20-year compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which would bring the state $3 billion over seven years. In return, the tribe would have exclusive rights to conduct banked card games, such as blackjack, at five of its casinos, and offer slots outside of Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Also under the House bill, parimutuel facilities could not offer lucrative designated player card games. In addition, the bill does not address decoupling.
House Democrats oppose the provision in the bill that would direct Seminole funds to “schools that serve students from persistently failing schools”—referring to House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s plan for “Schools of Hope.” Democrats consider the plan a giveaway to privately-owned charter schools; state Rep. Joe Geller called it a “poison pill.” Corcoran also had said any House legislation must be “an absolute contraction” of gambling in the state.
State Rep. Mike Miller said the House legislation would provide “certainty” after years of disagreement regarding the gambling industry and legal battles between the state and the Seminole Tribe.
Certainty is especially important this year with the Voter Control of Gambling constitutional amendment set to appear on the November ballot, which would allow voters to determine all future gambling in Florida if it gets 60 percent approval. “This could be our last possible chance to regulate gaming as a legislative body,” state Senator Travis Hutson said.
The Senate bill includes authorization for slot machines in eight counties where voters approved them in local referendums. Senate President Joe Negron said the legislature should respect the will of the people. Galvano said, “I have always been clear those referendums that took place were not done pursuant to state law; in fact, they were done in spite of state law. Nonetheless, Negron has been a proponent of that, so we are putting that issue in play.”
The Senate measure also would allow greyhound racetracks to decouple live racing from other gambling, but it exempts thoroughbred horse racetracks and jai alai frontons.
Galvano also said future money from the Seminoles could be used to “backfill” recurring costs for public school safety “hardening” following the tragic shooting at Broward County’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Galvano stated the Seminoles “continue to have an interest in getting something together. Their last offer was really not very impressive.” He added he and Speaker-designate José Oliva “continue to have conversations. We are, in concept, together on the idea that we need to solidify our relationship with the tribe.”
While the legislation is being negotiated, the Seminoles released a broadcast in the Tallahassee market that urges lawmakers to pass the compact. Tribal spokesman Gary Bitner said the ad “was in production prior to the most recent interactions with leaders of the legislature.”
In the 30-second ad, a narrator says, “For years, the Seminole compact has come through big for the people of Florida. With over 19,000 jobs and more than $2 billion already paid to fund vital services. Today, the Seminole Tribe is making one of the largest private investments in Florida, creating nearly 20,000 Florida jobs. The Florida compact is working. Let’s keep it going.”
The House and Senate must agree on a final bill before the legislative session ends Friday, March 9.
