Orlando Sentinel – Florida lawmakers will be eyeing a Floridarange of gambling changes this spring that could reshape the state’s controversial industry for decades.
Pitted between tourism giants such as Walt Disney Co. and billion-dollar casino companies, legislative leaders want a rewrite of the state’s gambling regulations — from changing the oversight of horse and greyhound racing to authorizing Las Vegas-style destination casinos.
But there’s a catch: If they can’t decide during the spring session what Florida’s betting landscape should look like, voters could wind up doing the job.
House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, and Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, are both pushing a constitutional amendment for the fall general-election ballot requiring that future gambling expansions go before voters statewide.
The idea could mean that voters from Pensacola to Key West would get a say in plans for any Las Vegas-style casinos regardless of where they’re proposed.
“I think we have seen gaming creep. The Legislature has not had its hands on the wheel when it comes the gaming laws of the state of Florida,” Weatherford said.
“The idea I’m warming up to, which I think makes a lot of sense, is to give the power back to the people when it comes to gaming expansion.”
The 60 percent vote required for amending the constitution would be a high bar for gambling interests. The 2004 amendment allowing Miami-Dade and Broward counties to have local referendums on slot machines — before the supermajority requirement was law — garnered just 50.8 percent voter support.
Weatherford says he is undecided on whether to require that any expansion contemplated this year also go to voters statewide, an idea preferred by a cadre of House conservatives, along with Central Florida’s “family friendly” tourism industry led by Disney.
