(The Senate Regulated Industries Committee met Tuesday, December 11, 2007 to discuss the current status of the proposed Seminole Compact with the Governor - FGA)

Lawmakers, Tribe Can Deal, Lawyer Says

By Catherine Dolinski
© 2007 The Tampa Tribune
Wednesday, December 12, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - Florida lawmakers have the power to negotiate a new gaming compact with the Seminole Indian Tribe directly, the Senate's legal counsel said Tuesday, adding another twist to the state's ongoing legal feud over gambling.

But lawmakers said that poses more questions than answers about whether there will be an agreement at all and whether the state will have the power to regulate a gaming expansion or receive a cut of the proceeds.

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa is among seven casinos that would benefit from a compact Gov. Charlie Crist negotiated this fall to expand Seminole gaming rights to blackjack, other banked card games and Las Vegas-style slot machines. In return, Florida would receive a profit share estimated at about $1 billion over the first five years, and one-half billion dollars annually after that.

But House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, is suing Crist in the Florida Supreme Court, arguing the governor violated the Legislature's authority to ratify the compact.

The Senate has not joined Rubio as a plaintiff in the case but filed a friend-of-the-court brief questioning whether Crist's compact would be enforceable.

Asked Tuesday to clarify what role lawmakers could play if the Supreme Court decides Crist overstepped his bounds, Jason Vail, legal adviser to Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, said he thinks that lawmakers could do more than cast a "yes" or "no" vote on a compact proposed by the governor.

Vail said lawmakers could respond with their own deal to offer directly to the tribe.

"There's nothing in federal law that appoints the governor as sole negotiator," he said.

Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville, said after the meeting of the Senate's Regulated Industries Committee that chances Senate and House members could agree on terms for a compact are slim to none, given Rubio's opposition to expanded gambling.

Fasano Foresees 'Mess'

Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said legislative negotiations would be "a mess."

"We have a hard enough time agreeing on how we're going to cut taxes and reduce property insurance, let alone try to deal with a very controversial and political issue like gambling is," said Fasano, who backs Crist in the gaming dispute. "Can you imagine the 160 members trying to come to an agreement on what the contract would be?"

Seminoles' attorney Barry Richard said Tuesday Rubio objects even to what is minimally required by federal law, which gives Indian tribes the right to offer the same games offered elsewhere in their state. In Florida, that means Las Vegas-style slot machines that are in Broward County.

"For 16 years, three governors have engaged in different levels of negotiation," Richard said. "The Legislature has never attempted to involve itself at all. It's difficult for me to envision how the Legislature could negotiate an outside contract."

King suggested federal officials might intervene to give the Seminoles at least Vegas-style slot machines if Rubio's court challenge drags on.

Rubio spokeswoman Jill Chamberlin said,"It's too early to predict what, if any, compact might be acceptable to both the House and the Senate. The House leadership's position is simply that we should not unnecessarily expand gambling and that any compact must adequately protect Florida's interests."

Crist has said he made the deal with the Seminoles in response to a Nov. 15 deadline set by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Absent a state compact, federal authorities have said they would impose their own rules for tribal gaming. Interior Department rules would not authorize blackjack or other card games at Seminole casinos, but would not have given Florida a share of the proceeds, either.

Fasano said the state risks losing not only money but the power to regulate the gaming.

But that's overstating the threat of federal authorities forcing expanded gambling on Florida, according to Rubio's advisers who point to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in August. The federal appeals court found that the Interior Department lacked the authority to approve tribal gaming in Texas without a state compact in place.

The Interior Department plans to act on the compact that Crist negotiated by Dec. 29. Unless it is rejected, the agreement will take effect. In his legal brief, Rubio urged the Supreme Court to act before that deadline, but to no avail.

Attorney General Bill McCollum said last month he would sue in federal court to stop the Interior Department from imposing a mandate to expand gambling without a compact in place. The Legislature would likely sue, too, Fasano said.

High Court Has Final Say

"Regardless of when the oral argument occurs, it's undisputed that the Florida Supreme Court will have the final say on whether our constitution allows the governor unilaterally to bind the state to the compact," Chamberlin said. "If the compact was not validly enacted under Florida law, then the Department of the Interior has no authority to permit Class III tribal gambling in our state."

Reporter Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or cdolinski@tampatrib.com.