Florida House panel passes scaled-back gambling bill
By Mary Ellen Klas
Tallahassee Bureau
© 2009 Miami Herald
Saturday. April 4, 2009
Amid warnings that expanding gambling is not a good bet for the state this year, a House committee passed a scaled-back Indian gaming bill Friday.
The House select committee on tribal gaming voted 17-1 Friday to give the Seminole Tribe the exclusive right to operate Class III slot machines at its seven casinos in Florida in return for $100 million a year.
The proposal authorizes Gov. Charlie Crist to renegotiate the gambling compact that has been invalidated by the Florida Supreme Court, but it also requires him to order the tribe to forfeit the blackjack and house-banked card games it won under his original plan. The court ruling found the games to be illegal in Florida since there is no specific legislation allowing them.
Rep. Bill Galvano, the Bradenton Republican who heads the House committee on the gambling compact, said the plan is a good balance between the tribe's legal right to have slot machines and the desire of lawmakers to limit gambling in Florida.
The proposal would dedicate most of state's share of money from Seminole gambling to education, but divert 5 percent to local governments and to programs that address the social consequences of gambling.
The House's gambling plan is a stark contrast to a Senate plan which passed out of its first committee last week. The Senate has proposed giving the tribe full casinos, including craps and roulette, lowering the tax rate on slots at horse and dog tracks and jai alai frontons, and giving ''racinos'' -- race tracks that have slot machines -- card games such as blackjack. The agreement also would give parimutuels outside of Miami-Dade and Broward counties bingo-style, Class II slot machines.
State economists this week shot down predictions by the Senate and governor that the Senate plan would produce $1 billion in new revenue and help close Florida's $3 billion budget gap.
Instead of $1 billion, economists predicted the Seminole's full casinos would produce about $400 million a year. They also said the proposal to reduce the tax rate on parimutuels while giving them new games would result in a net loss in taxes to the state.
''It's very sobering,'' said Galvano. ``It's a recognition that whatever we're doing shouldn't be a rush to judgment... Any of these changes are going to be slow coming and the money we do have is not going to be anywhere close to the $1 billion.''
Sen. Dennis Jones, sponsor of the Senate proposal, said Friday that he is making modifications to the Senate plan to phase in some of the tax breaks for parimutuels so there would be a net gain to the state. Legislative economists will meet Monday to forecast revenues based on those changes.
''We've got plenty of money in the out years but we created some negatives in the first year or two,'' Jones said. ``I'm trying to get to $600 million in the first year, because I'm convinced we can get $1 billion in the future.''
Meanwhile, Gov. Charlie Crist and the Seminole Tribe continued to urge lawmakers to ratify the original compact which would yield $100 million a year in revenue sharing to Florida -- $288 million by the end of the 2010 budget year.
''We are appealing to the members of the House and the Senate to approve the opportunity to have a compact with a tribe,'' Crist said at a press conference Friday, flanked by tribal leaders and the state's top education leaders.
''To me, the obvious point is we will have more money for education if that is done and if it's not done, we will not,'' he said.
None of the educators said whether they preferred Crist's approach to the House or Senate plans. The governor reiterated his support for the compact he negotiated.
''We're talking about the original compact -- that's what the we're interested in, what the tribe is interested in and those dollars are what education is interested in,'' Crist said. Wayne Blanton, director of the Florida School Boards Association, called the compact an essential ''infusion of dollars'' this year. And Bill Montford, head of the Florida Superintendent's Association, said his organization was ''supportive'' of the governor's approach.
Crist was asked if the tribe would be willing to guarantee any money up front to make sure lawmakers could count on the money when building its budget. The governor didn't respond.
''Obviously there is some fluidity in the closing days of the session,'' he said.
Galvano said the governor's original compact is all but dead.
''The compact that has been voided is recognized by both chambers as a bad deal, frankly,'' he said. The House and Senate proposals both tighten regulation of the tribe and take into account the impact of their gambling empire on other industries.
Galvano said the House committee is now working on a second bill, to give parimutuels more tax breaks and relaxed regulations to allow it to better compete with the tribe. The bill will be ready by April 20.
Crist Embraces Seminole Gaming Compact, Draws Foes
By William March
Copyright 2009 Tampa Herald
wmarch@tampatrib.com
Saturday, April 4, 2009
With the state Legislature debating whether to expand gambling in Florida to help balance the budget, Gov. Charlie Crist announced his position Friday, and it's one neither the House nor Senate seems likely to embrace, but which spares him political damage.
Crist wants to stick with the original agreement he negotiated with the Seminole Indian tribe last year, allowing the tribe to offer "banked" card games such as blackjack at their casinos.
For Crist, a Republican who may run for the U.S. Senate next year, his position looks like a retrenchment in the face of fierce opposition to expanded gambling from social conservatives.
He has spoken favorably in recent weeks about a Senate proposal that would allow more gambling and produce more money for the state, saying it would provide money at a time of unprecedented economic hardship. The measure would allow full casinos on tribal land and expanded machine gambling at existing pari-mutuel facilities.
Over the years, Crist has hinted one way and then another on the issue.
In his 2006 campaign for governor, he said he opposed expanded gambling.
In 2007, he negotiated the compact with the tribe, saying it would produce $100 million a year for state, and that without it the tribe might be able to offer casino-style slots on its own, paying the state nothing.
Last week, he said he might support the Senate proposal in response to "the most profound economic change since the Great Depression."
"We have to adapt and we have to adjust," he said.
After the Senate action, major figures in the religious conservative movement, along with Marco Rubio, a possible Republican primary opponent to Crist, launched a high-profile campaign against any expanded gambling.
Crist said in his news conference Friday that the gambling money would go to public education.
Florida teachers union president Andy Ford stood beside him, as did Wayne Blanton, executive director of the state School Boards Association, and Bill Montford, CEO of the Association of District School Superintendents.
Crist let them do most of the talking.
"We cannot have an adequate education budget without the infusion of dollars" from the gambling compact," Blanton said.
Crist must have legislative approval to implement his proposal, and there's no indication the Legislature will go his way.
Senate budget chief JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales, said he's not happy about expanding gambling, but if it happens, the state ought to get more money for it than Crist's compact provides.
Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, chairman of the House select committee on the compact, said many House members oppose any further gambling at any price.
Crist's proposal is "the same message we've heard for months now," Galvano said. "We're going to continue to proceed the way we've been proceeding."
Neither knew of any legislation to put Crist's proposal into effect. Crist's office didn't respond to a query on whether any legislator has agreed to introduce any.
The tribe already has been running the games allowed by the compact, setting aside the state's share of the money in escrow. That means the state would get $288 million the first year.
A House proposal approved Friday would produce about the same amount of money, without allowing the card games. The tribe would have to agree to that.
The Senate proposal would produce an amount that state economic analysts have said would be about $387 million the first year, and more later.
Debate Continues Over Expanding Gambling
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.
Tallahassee: A three-way game of chicken is gaining speed between Gov. Charlie Crist, the House and the Senate over the future of gambling in Florida and the stakes are high.
Hundreds of millions of dollars are hinging on whether the state will work out a gambling deal with the Seminole Indians and if the negotiations crash, Florida could lose out on billions of dollars from gambling.
Right now there are three competing proposals on the table. Today Gov. Charlie Crist stood side by side with the Seminoles at the state Capitol to push for the original gambling deal that he worked out with the tribe in 2007.
The governor says that agreement would generate nearly $300 million dollars for the state right now and billions more over the next 25 years.
It allowed the tribe to start operating Las Vegas-style games, such as blackjack and baccarat, at its casinos. But the Florida Supreme Court overturned the deal last summer, saying the governor could not negotiate the agreement by himself without legislative approval.
So lawmakers are crafting their own proposals.
The Senate is pushing for a big expansion in gambling that could raise more than $1 billion. It would allow the Seminoles to have slot machines and table card games, and the state’s 26 parimutuels would get video lottery machines.
The House plan is much more conservative. The proposal was approved today (Friday) by a special select committee chosen to review the indian gaming issue. It would restrict gambling at Seminole casinos to slot machines and give parimutuels tax breaks to compete with the tribe.
Gov. Crist says his original deal would generate more cash for public schools and education leaders are embracing his version.
Crist says he doesn’t want Florida to lose out on a chance to make a deal with the Seminoles because they probably can get approval from the federal government and then the state would not benefit at all.
The man in charge of a House committee studying the gaming issue calls the governor’s plan a bad deal. Rep. Bill Galvano says it lacks proper regulation and doesn’t consider the impact on other industries.
Some House members are concerned the state is pursuing a gaming deal with the Seminoles because Florida needs the cash to cover a budget deficit, and not because it’s best for people.
Rep. Ralph Poppell says if the Senate is expanding gambling just to rake in more cash for the state, then that looks like lawmakers are for sale during tough times for the right price. He says either you have morals or you don’t.
And Rep. Marti Coley says she wants to proceed very carefully because gambling can have a negative impact on families if parents throw their money away at casinos.
House sets table for gambling legislation
Bill would take away card games but leave slots for Seminoles
By Sara Kennedy
skennedy@bradenton.com
Bradenton Herald
Saturday, April 4, 2009
MANATEE — A Florida House committee signed off on a bill that would direct Gov. Charlie Crist to negotiate a new agreement that would strip Seminole Tribe casinos of card games like blackjack and baccarat, but would allow continued operation of slot machines.
“I think it’s a great committee bill, and helps us move forward in the process,” said Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, chairman of the House Select Committee on Seminole Indian Compact Review, after the 19-1 vote Friday in Tallahassee.
The committee is reviewing an agreement between the state and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, owner of seven casinos.
If the measure became law, it would guarantee a minimum of $100 million annually for the state, or 18 percent of gambling revenues, whichever is greater, said Galvano. The compact’s term would be reduced from 25 to 10 years.
An agreement with the Seminoles is important because the recession has dried up sources of money the state ordinarily draws upon to finance the state budget, estimated at $65 billion this year.
The proposal would allow the tribe to operate slot machines at its casinos, one of which is the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa, 40 miles north of Manatee County.
Although Broward and Miami-Dade counties already permit slot machines, the House version of the compact would keep them off limits in other parts of the state, except for properties owned by the tribe.
The measure would require the tribe to halt card games such as blackjack and baccarat within 90 days of the compact’s effective date.
“We are encouraged the House is continuing to look at the issue. We look forward to working with both legislative bodies to reach a resolution beneficial to all involved,” said James Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International and chief executive officer of Seminole Gaming, who oversees day-to-day operation of the tribe’s casinos.
Allen said he attended a rally Friday in Tallahassee with educators and the governor, who supports the terms of the 2007 compact and wants legislators to ratify the original, 25-year pact.
The courts voided it on grounds that Crist had exceeded his authority, and ruled it needed legislative approval to be valid.
“The compact represents $288 million for education this year alone, and those dollars are just the beginning of billions of dollars that will come to Florida’s schools during the next 25 years,” Crist said. “These much-needed funds will improve the quality of life of students, teachers, and all Floridians for generations to come.”
Also supporting the governor’s position Friday was Wayne Blanton, executive director for the Florida School Boards Association, and William J. “Bill” Montford III, chief executive officer for the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, according to a spokesman for the governor’s office.
The House committee Monday is slated to review measures that might ensure that the state’s 27 pari-mutuel businesses, such as the Sarasota Kennel Club, are able to compete under the terms of an agreement with the Seminoles, Galvano said.
Kennel club owner Jack Collins Jr. has said his business might close if the state agrees to an arrangement that puts him at a competitive disadvantage.
House members supported a more conservative proposal than one under consideration in the Senate, which would greatly expand what Crist envisioned in 2007.
The Senate would allow gaming at both tribal casinos and parimutuel businesses. Its version is estimated to raise $400 million next year for the state.
“The Senate wants full-on casinos,” said Galvano. “In addition to what was in the original compact, they want to add roulette and craps and card games to nontribal entities, video lotteries all over the state.”
Governor's compact good bet for Florida
An Editorial
© 2009 St. Petersburg Times
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Gov. Charlie Crist made a mistake in 2007 by signing a gambling compact with the Seminole Indian Tribe without legislative approval. But after months of legislative discussion, Crist's deal with the tribe is starting to look like Florida's best option to satisfy federal gaming law, guarantee immediate cash in hand and limit gambling. The Legislature would be wise to embrace it instead of pushing disparate agendas that risk lawsuits or a gross expansion of gambling.
Crist's compact, since invalidated by the Florida Supreme Court, gave the tribe exclusive rights for 25 years to offer blackjack and other house-banked card games in Florida in exchange for paying the state millions of dollars annually. Despite the court saying Crist overstepped his bounds by negotiating with the Seminoles without consulting the Legislature, the governor's deal is the de facto reality in Florida.
The tribe installed Vegas-style slot machines and added house-banked card games at its Hollywood and Tampa Hard Rock Casinos last year. Calls from Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum to the National Indian Gaming Commission to shut down the games following the Supreme Court's ruling have gone unanswered, suggesting federal authorities are hesitant to get involved. Meanwhile, the tribe continues to make payments to a state escrow account. It says it is doing so in good faith because it wants to sign the same or similar deal with the Legislature.
House Republicans want to scale back the deal. They would allow the Seminoles to continue to offer the slot machines at seven locations but halt blackjack and other house-banked card games. In exchange, the tribe would pay $100 million to the state annually. In an ideal world, it would be nice to put the genie back in the bottle.
Gambling has a deteriorating impact on a community, robbing entire families of resources lost at track windows or card tables. The last thing Florida should be doing in the midst of a recession and a 9.4 percent unemployment rate is encouraging people to gamble.
But the tribe is a sovereign nation unlikely to agree to the House deal, saying it doesn't provide significant exclusivity. Federal law says the only way a state can extract payments from Indian gaming enterprises is by granting them exclusive rights. Whether the federal government would side with the Seminoles or the House plan is unknown. The potential outcome could be the worst of all worlds: card games continue at the Indian casinos, Florida receives no money from them and the state faces expensive and protracted litigation.
On the other extreme, a bipartisan coalition of senators is pushing a plan just short of turning Florida into Nevada. They want to lower the legal gambling age to 18 from 21; give the Seminoles full-scale casinos with roulette wheels and craps tables; give Broward and Miami-Dade parimutuels blackjack and card games and lower their tax rate on slot machines. And they want to allow the rest of the state's parimutuels — such as Derby Lane in St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar — to offer slot machines that pit players against each other (rather than Vegas-style where the slots are banked against the house). They contend the plan would raise $1 billion a year, including $400 million from the Seminoles.
But state economists warned last week that the estimate was overly optimistic in the recession. They estimate that despite giving non-Indian parimutuels new games, the lower tax rate would still lead to lower tax collections from those entities.
Crist's plan requires the Seminoles to pay at least $100 million a year. The tribe is on schedule to deposit $288 million by the end of 2010.
Any expansion of gambling — including the state's recent addition of the multistate Powerball game — is troubling. But the challenge here is to tailor a deal with the Seminoles that is narrow enough to satisfy federal law but assures Florida compensation. So far only one plan, the governor's, does both.