When it recently adjourned abruptly, the Florida legislatures left behind Senate Bill 7088, which would have extended the state’s 2010 compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida another year. The pact, set to expire July 31, gave the tribe exclusive rights to offer blackjack, chemin de fer and baccarat at five of its seven casinos, in exchange for billion over five years.
The unexpected end of the session was due to an impasse over $4 billion in health care funding, including an expansion of Medicaid the Senate supports and the House strongly opposes. Because they did not pass a state budget for fiscal 2015-16, legislators must return for a 20-day special session, which could be held in June. The one-year compact extension could be addressed at that time.
Legislative leaders had been in negotiations with tribal lawyers and had “made some progress,” said state Senator Rob Bradley, one of the Senate negotiators. In a statement, the Seminoles said, “The Tribe remains hopeful that negotiations can commence soon to reach an agreement that will result in favorable action during a special session of the Florida Legislature,” the Seminole statement said.
Without the compact, the Seminole casinos will keep slots and poker but stop offering the three card games. The tribe also had promised, if a new compact were offered, that it would spend $1.6 billion to renovate its Hard Rock Casinos in Hollywood and Tampa, build two new hotels and add another 4,000 jobs.
The Seminole Tribe is trying another tactic to renew the compact, accusing the state of ignoring federal law by not negotiating a new gambling agreement. Tribal Council Chairman James Billie recently sent a letter to Governor Rick Scott, Senate President Andy Gardiner and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli demanding that the state “obey the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which was created in 1988 to regulate gambling on Indian lands. We trust the state will fully comply with its obligation under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to commence good faith negotiations with the Seminole Tribe of Florida.”
The letter triggered a 180-day deadline for the state to resume negotiations before the U.S. district courts assume jurisdiction of the agreement on October 28, according to IGRA.
Also left behind due to the early session end were a bill to let dog tracks decouple from live racing and offer other gambling options, and a measure to allow slot machines at tracks located in Palm Beach and Lee counties. Thousands of other pieces of legislation also were abandoned.
In March, a Seminole Tribe-commissioned poll indicated 61 percent of Floridians “support renewing the Seminole compact.”
