Legislature Could Hold Wild Card

By Steve Bousquet
Times Reporter
Copyright © 2007 - St. Petersburg Times
South Pinellas Edition
Monday, September 17, 2007

If lawmakers sit in on a tribal gambling deal, parimutuels would display political clout.

Gov. Charlie Crist's willingness to let legislators vote on a possible casino gambling deal with the Seminole Tribe has aroused a powerful force: the tribe's competitors who own horse and dog tracks and have lots of clout in the state Capitol.

For decades, Florida's parimutuel industry has been among the biggest donors to political parties and campaigns. The industry employs some of the most seasoned lobbyists in Tallahassee.

Despite that, the parimutuels never get all they want. It took them seven years to get poker rooms. They have tried vainly for years to legalize video lottery terminals.

But any gambling deal needing legislative approval would give the tracks a platform to complain about unfair competition - especially if the compact included games not legal in Florida, such as blackjack and baccarat.

"It at least gives us a venue," said Ken Plante, a lobbyist for Tampa Bay Downs. "Right now, we're not part of anything that's going on with the governor and the Indians."

The industry and affiliated businesses in other states donated at least $5.8-million in the latest two-year election cycle ending last November, according to election records.

Of that total, $2.7-million went to the Republican Party and its candidates and $1.2-million to the Democratic Party and its candidates, a ratio that approximates the GOP's dominance in the Legislature. About $1.9-million went to an array of bipartisan political action committees.

The industry's largest single industry check was for $1-million to a committee that backed a 2005 referendum that brought state- approved Las Vegas-style slots to three Broward tracks.

Legislators who strongly oppose gambling want to vote on a Crist- Seminole compact so they can register their disapproval to their constituents.

Other lawmakers who have been reliable supporters of the parimutuels are eager to have a voice over any deal, in part to reaffirm those relationships.

"We are going in a direction for the first time in the history of this state, and I would think that the governor would want the input of the Legislature," said Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, who chairs the Senate Regulated Industries Committee.

The big mystery is the fine print of any proposed deal. Do the Seminoles get exclusive control over slot machines in certain areas or for a certain time?

Talks between Crist's office and the Seminoles have continued in private for weeks, with each side offering mixed signals.

"I think we would not need more than a full day of negotiations to come to closure on the outstanding issues," Jerry Straus, a lawyer for the tribe, wrote in a Sept. 12 e-mail to Crist's general counsel, Paul Huck.

If Crist strikes a deal with the tribe to allow Las Vegas-style slot machines at seven tribal gambling dens, he has repeatedly said his "preference" is to ask the Legislature to ratify it.

"My preference is that there would be that partnership, and therefore that ratification," Crist said Thursday.

By giving the Legislature a voice in a tribal compact, Crist could be taking two risks.

The first is that the House, led by Speaker Marco Rubio, a West Miami Republican, could reject the deal, possibly making Rubio a hero to social conservatives.

Some social conservatives are upset with Crist because they think he has not kept his campaign promise to oppose the expansion of gambling.

"Gov. Crist should be consistent and do what he said he was going to do, and not expand gambling," said John Stemberger, an Orlando lawyer and the president of the Florida Family Policy Council, a group that strongly opposes gambling. "I'm grateful for the House's leadership."

Rubio has publicly criticized Crist for negotiating with the tribe, but Crist maintains that such talks are required under federal law now that the state has sanctioned slot machines.

The other risk is that Crist could be tossing the compact into a legislative forum where the tribe's rivals, the tracks, are stronger - in part because of their generosity at election time.

Despite Rubio's opposition to gambling, his party received by far the most gambling money in the 2006 cycle. A sizable chunk of the $2.4-million was spent getting Republicans elected to House seats, ensuring Rubio would be speaker.

Little wonder that the tribe's attorneys want to keep the issue away from the Legislature.

Barry Richard, who represents the tribe, argues that nothing requires the Legislature to ratify a gambling deal between the governor's office and the tribe - unless it contains elements "within the exclusive domain of the Legislature," such as a provision requiring part of the tribe's revenue be earmarked for public education.

Two Indian tribes seeking slot machines, the Seminoles and Miccosukees, also have given sizable donations. But together they amount to a fraction of what the parimutuels have given.

Times staff writers Alex Leary and Steve Huettel contributed to this report. Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.

FAST FACTS

Gambling money: Who got it

Top five party and committee recipients of gambling money in the 2004-2006 election cycle:

Republican Party of Florida: $2,411,750
Floridians for a Level Playing Field: $1,200,000
Florida Democratic Party: $1,087,185
Floridians for Justice PAC: $152,000
Committee for Florida Justice Reform: $100,000

Five candidates who got most gambling money:

Charlie Crist (R, governor): $27,250
Joe Negron (R, attorney general candidate): $20,250
Jim King (R, state senator): $15,500
Ken Pruitt (R, state senator): $14,000
Frank Farkas (R, Senate candidate): $12,000
(Note: Negron and Farkas lost their elections.)
Source: Division of Elections
Credit: Times Staff Writers

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.

Abstract (Document Summary)

"It at least gives us a venue," said Ken Plante, a lobbyist for Tampa Bay Downs. "Right now, we're not part of anything that's going on with the governor and the Indians."

"Gov. [Charlie Crist] should be consistent and do what he said he was going to do, and not expand gambling," said John Stemberger, an Orlando lawyer and the president of the Florida Family Policy Council, a group that strongly opposes gambling. "I'm grateful for the House's leadership."

Barry Richard, who represents the tribe, argues that nothing requires the Legislature to ratify a gambling deal between the governor's office and the tribe - unless it contains elements "within the exclusive domain of the Legislature," such as a provision requiring part of the tribe's revenue be earmarked for public education.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.