Florida Governor Charlie Crist has approved a gaming deal with the Seminole Indian Tribe on August 31st, 2009 and for the 2nd time; he may have his agreement dismissed by state lawmakers in the state. Already, some legislators have criticized the new Seminole gaming compact.
A special session is expected to be convened in October 2009 and Governor Crist wants the gaming compact to be approved that he may even add other important issues to be discussed during the special session in October. One of the additional issues could be off-shore drilling. But Gov. Crist has received opposition for adding too many issues to the agenda.
Senator Don Gaetz from Niceville that the gaming compact is not a 2 day special session issue. He said that the gaming compact is more complicated than the drilling issue. While Senator Gaetz's criticism is to Governor Crist's plan to multi-task at the special session, other legislators have reservations about the actual Seminole gaming compact.
They stated that Florida tied itself too much by approving to some of the gaming concession that the Seminole tribe requested in exchange for bigger payment. One thing that the state of Florida did accomplished was not giving the Seminole tribe exclusivity to the casino table games.
If the legislators decide that the pari-mutuel facilities in Miami-Dade County and Broward County should have blackjack, then that chance is available. State legislators are continuing to review the new gaming compact and some believe that there is too much to review before a special session can be called.
Gov. Charlie Crist may want the special session to take place in October but legislators are not that convince of the timing. Senate President Jeff Atwater's spokesperson, Jaryn Emhoff said that until the legislators finish reviewing the gaming compact and have a good idea of what it contains, any talk of scheduling a special session is an unadvisable.
Monday, September 21 , 2009
Kim Watson