Florida state Senator Bill Galvano and state Rep. Jose Oliva, the legislature’s top negotiators on gambling issues, recently sent their recommendations regarding a special session of the legislature to House Speaker Richard Corcoran and Senate President Joe Negron. However, Galvano cautioned, “Discussions are continuing but there is not an agreement or recommendations at this time” about dates or other specifics. If differences can be negotiated, legislators could be called into session by April 30.
Governor Rick Scott’s spokesman McKinley Lewis said Scott “will review any proposal lawmakers put forward.”
Talk of a special session started when an agreement between the state and the Seminole Tribe of Florida expired on March 31, allowing the tribe to stop making monthly payments toward about $300 million it pays annually for exclusive rights to offer blackjack and other games at its casinos. But Barry Richard, the tribe’s attorney said the tribe will continue to make the payments. “There is no plan to stop the payments. The Seminoles are perfectly happy with the relationship they have with the state. They don’t want to take advantage of the state economically any more than they want the state to take advantage of them.” Richard said tribal leaders have not been in contact with legislators nor briefed on any proposal.
Lawmakers have expressed concern over the potential loss of Seminole money, but the House and Senate could not reach a compromise over their differing versions of gambling bills. One of the major areas of disagreement is allowing slot machines in counties where voters approved them by referendum outside of Miami-Dade and Broward counties; the Seminole Tribe considers this a violation of its exclusivity rights. State regulation of designated player games also is an area of concern for the tribe.
If a deal includes additional tribe games, such as craps and roulette, or extending the compact, the tribe may be willing to give the state additional revenue, he said.
Another concern is Amendment 3, a proposed constitutional amendment that would require a statewide vote for any future gaming expansion. If approved by 60 percent of voters, it would change the Florida Constitution and give voters the “exclusive right to decide whether to authorize casino gambling” in the state. The issue is backed by Voters in Charge, a group led by John Sowinski. Recently he wrote to Negron and Corcoran suggesting a special session is a “fictional crisis manufactured by gambling lobbyists” and that there is a “political fundraising benefit to holding a special session” during an election year.
“Whenever this issue comes up in Tallahassee, negotiations between the chambers seem to be more focused on coming up with a ‘deal’ that satisfies competing gambling interests than enacting solutions that are in the best interests of the people of Florida. Doesn’t the commitment by the Seminole Tribe to continue making compact payments resolve the potential revenue loss concern that legislative leaders said was the basis for holding a special session?” Sowinski wrote.
The Seminole Tribe and Disney Worldwide Services Inc. both support Amendment 3. In March, Disney donated to Voters In Charge, the group behind the proposed constitutional amendment, another $105,000, for a total of $4.655 million, according to a state Division of Elections finance report. As of March 31, the group had raised about $6.74 million. It also received in-kind contributions from the group No Casinos Inc. last month.
