BRADENTON, Fla. - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and the Seminole Tribe of Florida have asked the state Supreme Court to reconsider its unanimous decision invalidating their gambling compact signed last November.
The court decision, rendered July 3, placed in limbo $50 million that the tribe forwarded to the state when the compact was signed by the governor, plus more than $2.5 billion the compact would bring to state coffers over 25 years.
The court ruled that the governor did not have unilateral authority to negotiate and sign the compact authorizing Las Vegas-style gambling on tribal land. Crist's signing of the compact was challenged by the state's top lawmakers, who said legislative approval was required to expand gambling not currently allowed by law.
In a motion filed last Thursday, Crist's attorneys asked for a rehearing and said the court "misapprehended longstanding jurisdictional principles." The motion goes on to say, in part, that "left intact, the decision will authorize virtually every challenge to an action by a state officer."
The Seminoles on June 22 began offering blackjack and baccarat games at the tribe's Hard Rock Hotel and Casino near Hollywood in South Florida. Their motion for a rehearing says the high court misinterpreted federal law, which permits the casino-type games under a valid compact signed by the governor or approved through rules imposed by the federal government.
The U.S. Department of the Interior approved Florida's disputed gambling compact on Dec. 29.
Florida is suffering from the downturn in the real estate market and economy - both of which have resulted in significantly lower sales tax revenues supporting the state budget. The state doesn't have an income tax so it relies primarily on sales and use taxes.
The news got worse last Wednesday when Florida economists announced that the state lost 74,700 jobs in the past 12 months - more than any other state - with 54% of those losses in construction. Florida's unemployment rate in May was 5.5%, its highest since January 2003. Economists also said new single-family home construction this fiscal year has fallen 48.7% and multifamily starts have fallen 55.9% compared to the previous fiscal year.
