Include Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam among those opposed to the gaming destination bill that is expected to be drastically rewritten before it goes before its first Senate vote next month.
The two Cabinet members, joining members of the Florida Chamber of Commerce and No Casinos, an organization opposing expanded gambling, called on state legislators to walk away from the proposal they say will grow crime and lead to a proliferation of gambling across Florida.
The bills, HB 487 and SB 710, filed by Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, and Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, call for the creation of a statewide gaming commission and allow up to three mega-casinos that would each be worth more than $2 billion.
There will be casinos throughout our state, Bondi said during a media conference Thursday with Putnam and members of the Florida Chamber and Florida Sheriffs Association.
Its been suggested that allowing mega-casinos in South Florida is the best way to ensure that there is no further expansion of gambling, she continued.
But that argument reminds me of what was said early on when the Seminole compact was made a few years ago.
We were told that giving Seminoles exclusive rights to casino gambling would be so lucrative there would be no need in Florida for an expansion of gambling. Yet here we are, only a short time later, being asked to go along with yet another massive expansion.
View comments from the media conference here.
Bondi said if the compact is broken, the Florida Seminoles would be allowed to expand gaming options in the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa.
Putnam said the states character is at stake against the insidious threat of gambling that might be tempting in the current difficult economic times, but won't pay off in the long run.
What makes Florida special is our world-class natural resources, our beaches, our waterways, world-class attractions that are family-friendly in nature, Putnam said.
For decades, leaders of our state, in a bipartisan basis, have stood shoulder to shoulder to say, 'We dont want Florida to be the next Vegas.'
On Wednesday, members of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee offered a variety of criticism for the bills.
Committee members called the proposal to create a statewide gaming commission and allow up to three mega-casinos an expansion of gaming in the Sunshine State.
The impact of the bill could result in the Florida Seminoles breaking the tribe's two-year-old, 20-year compact that is expected to generate more than $400 million for the state this year if facilities with slot machines are allowed to open outside Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Pari-mutuel owners have complained about the tax rate because they must pay 35 percent of revenue to the state, while the new casinos would only be charged 10 percent.
Amy Baker, the states chief economist, told the senators Wednesday that the bill -- as currently proposed -- could result in $327 million to $455 million in additional revenue for the state in the first four years, even with the Seminole compact being broken and a decline in revenue from the pari-mutuels.
Cynthia O'Connell, Florida lottery secretary, told senators she didnt support her agency being moved under a statewide gaming commission.
Associated Industries of Florida has offered the most vocal support for the bill, saying the casinos will produce much-needed jobs.
View a media conference held in the Capitol Tuesday by AIF.
Others opposed to the bills include Disney, the Florida Attractions Association, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association and the Florida Retail Federation.
Both AIF and No Casinos have run competing ads in North Florida.
See the No Casino ad here.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or (772) 215-9889.
