With the Florida House Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee scheduled to vote on Friday on a bill to expand casino gambling in the Sunshine State, supporters and opponents of the measure scrambled on Thursday, making their last arguments and mobilizing their backers before the vote on Friday morning.
Brewster Bevis, vice president of external relations for the Associated Industries of Florida, pointed to figures set up in the state Capitol that represent residents of the Sunshine State who would be in better financial shape if destination casinos came to the state.
As the House Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee prepares to vote on the job-creating, destination resorts legislation, a visual representation of the states nearly 1 million jobless stood in halls of the Florida Capitol today, Bevis said in a statement on Thursday. These figures symbolize the tens of thousands of Floridians who would benefit from the creation of destination resorts. Each figure features statements reflecting the significant impacts this legislation, if passed, would have on their respective industries.
Destination resorts present the state of Florida with a unique opportunity to accelerate our economic recovery through guaranteed job creation and revenue generation, Bevis added. Todays display is another reminder of the opportunities destination resorts afford us and the job creation at stake.
Andrew Langer, the president of the Institute for Liberty, a libertarian policy group, told Sunshine State News on Thursday the casinos would help the states economy. The marketplace ought to work, he said, insisting that independent contractors, restaurants and small businesses would benefit from casinos in South Florida.
Its another way of hurrying economic growth, Langer said. It presents lot of of opportunities.
Langer said resort casinos in South Florida would not hurt gaming in Nevada. Instead, he said, casinos in South Florida would compete with gaming operations in the Caribbean. Why should we have all that tourist money go to other countries? he asked.
Adding that it would be a shame if the measure did not pass the Legislature, Langer said that he hoped if the bill fails that Floridians could vote in county referendums to allow casinos or not.
Langer jabbed Disney for opposing the measure, accusing the company of engaging in quintessential crony capitalism.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce came out swinging against the measure -- which is sponsored by Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, in the Senate and by Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, in the House. The Chamber sent out an action alert to its supporters on Thursday urging them to contact legislators on the committee to oppose the bill.
The Chamber slammed the proposed massive expansion of Las Vegas-style casino gambling, arguing this legislation is a bad bet for Florida because it enables mega-casinos to forever change the future of Floridas economic and worldwide brand. The Chamber continued, insisting the bill was a major distraction to the Florida Chambers 2012 priorities that include improving Floridas business climate, eliminating overburdensome regulations and reducing the cost of doing business for employers.
Maintaining the measure kills jobs, rather than creating them and cannibalizes existing businesses in Florida, the Chamber noted that the bill drew the opposition of some of the leading Republicans in Florida, including three members of the state Cabinet -- Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
Other organizations across Florida attempted to mobilize their supporters into action on Thursday. Florida Family Action, a group of religious and social conservatives that opposes expanding gaming, urged backers to contact three Republicans on the committee -- Ana Rivas Logan of Miami, Scott Plakon of Longwood and Ken Roberson of Port Charlotte -- who remained on the fence on the issue.
Arguing the bill would lead to 100,000 new jobs in the Sunshine State, the Latin Builders Association urged its supporters to contact committee members to back the bill.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
