Last week, the Florida House took a big step toward resolving the huge differences between its 2010-2011 budget and the Senate’s.The House's Select Committee on Seminole Indian Compact Review gave a thumbs up to a compact that will provide Florida with $1B in Seminole gambling revenues over next five years.
Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Senate both included hundreds of millions from anticipated Seminole gaming payments in their proposed FYE 2011 budgets. However, the House initially turned a cold shoulder to the plan. As a result, the House budget was significantly smaller than the governor’s or Senate’s.
The House called for drastic cuts to education while Crist and the Senate called for increases. In the House budget, FAMU takes a $1.8M cut in general revenue and received only $3M toward the estimated $30.9M price tag for Pharmacy Phase II.
The compact gives the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights to Vegas-style slot machines outside Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. It also gives the Seminoles exclusive rights to banked card games such as blackjack at five of its seven casinos across the state.
According to the Naples News, “The agreement was forged after concessions were made to non-Indian pari-mutuels that will allow them to extend their hours and offer no-limit poker. It also allows them to operate up to 350 video bingo or historic racing machines per facility. A separate bill would reduce the tax rate on slot machines in Broward and Miami-Dade counties from 50 percent to 35 percent.”
While the compact will pump at least $280M into next year’s budget, the House and Senate still have big differences to resolve. The House budget still lacks two big items included in the Senate’s: $880M in supplemental Medicare money and $349M from a proposed statewide school board property tax increase.
Pictured: Gov. Charlie Crist with Seminole Tribe Chairman Mitchell Cypress.
Will all the gambling money go to K-12 or will the bulk of it go to higher ed??
ReplyDeleteThe Senate proposes using much of the money for higher ed. That's why FAMU's appropriations are so much better in the Senate version of the budget.
ReplyDeleteAs a educator in the State of Florida, I am somewhat happy that this looks like it will pass, I am also puzzled by our politicians. It appears that politicians in the state of Florida only feel that education should be paid for through gambling. For example, much of K-12 is paid by the Florida Lottery. Now with the Seminole Gaming Compact, more of the higher education budget will be supplement by gambling. What happens when folk stop going to South Florida to gamble? I think they need to create an education tax, even if its only 1 cent on gas, food (although I do not believe food should be taxed), clothing, something...this compact will only be helpful in the short run.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. The compact will only give Florida a short term boost. Our state leaders need to step up and fix the tax code to increase the education budget.
ReplyDeleteTuition, lottery sales, and slot machines aren't going to cut it.
The lottery and this is really supposed to be the icing on the cake. We're in a diabetic coma right now. Been feeding on icing only for decades. Instead of furthering the education here into world-class reckoning, we hopelessly claim to bolster education, its "gains" and our society. Such a croc. New Rule: Corrections and Law enforcemet budgets cut to levels of education! Then add the lottery money and the gambling taxes!
ReplyDeleteOT: So, can Ms. One strike a deal with the Gov. to run her numbers? lol
ReplyDelete