What Happened in Florida?

Track Greed Kills Slots Bill

By: Jack Cory
June 1, 2005

Tallahassee Florida: Since the Florida Legislative Session has ended, I have been receiving phone calls and emails from Greyhound men and women from all over the country asking, “What happened in Florida?”

To fully understand the situation you need to go back six years to February 1999. Representatives from “ALL” the Greyhound Tracks in Florida, the National Greyhound Association (NGA) and the Florida Greyhound Association (FGA) were meeting to prepare a proposal to be submitted to the Florida Legislature authorizing video lottery terminals (VLT) in all pari-mutuel facilities.

The tracks wanted NGA and FGA members to support their proposal. The NGA and the FGA representatives agreed to support the proposal from the tracks that included purse enhancement; protection of live racing; protection of kennel operators; a breeders program; and intent language committing the state to live racing.

The tracks agreed to all these proposals in a written memo dated February 12, 1999.

Greyhound men and women are known for keeping their word for as long as it takes to get the job done.

Now, fast-forward to the winter of 2004 when we had the opportunity to talk to the manager of the Hollywood Greyhound Track. He asked if NGA/FGA were going to oppose his proposal to authorize slot machines in existing pari-mutuel facilities in Broward and Miami-Dade County, Florida. He expected some track operators in other parts of the state to oppose his proposal. (Miami-Dade County later defeated the proposal in a second local referendum.)

We told him whatever benefited one greyhound person benefited ALL, but that we would need to keep the promise that the tracks had made on VLT’s; he was very appreciative of our support and assured us we would get together soon.

The system in Florida to amend the Constitution is very complex. The language for the proposed amendment must contain only one subject. You must first obtain 61,114 signatures on a petition containing the proposed amendment and then submit the language to the Attorney General for language certification before it goes to the Supreme Court. Then, you must obtain 611,009 signatures in at least 13 of the Congressional Districts. In the case of the slots proposal, it was submitted as a State Wide Referendum in November of 2004 and approved. It then required a second referendum in March 2005 in Broward and Miami-Dade County. The Broward County referendum was approved but the Miami-Dade County referendum was defeated.

Throughout the entire referendum process the greyhound men and women of the National Greyhound Association and the Florida Greyhound Association did all they could to support the passage of the slots referendum.

The third part of the Constitutional Amendment stated that it “requires implementing legislation” by the Florida Legislature.

The Florida Legislature is in Session for 60 calendar days or 9 weeks. The 9 weeks of the Florida Legislative Session are very similar to the 9 innings of a baseball game. It doesn’t matter who is ahead in the third or the fifth inning. The only score that counts is after the completion of the 9 innings or 9 weeks.

Because of this short-fixed period, things move very quickly during the regular session. It is like when the box opens, there is no stopping the greyhounds; they are off and running and they are extremely focused.

The Legislature also had Interim Committee Meetings that began this year in November, similar to the pre-season in baseball. Throughout this time we testified several times before House and Senate Committees that we supported the slots bill as long as it had purse enhancement and the protection of live racing. We were in contact with the tracks in Tallahassee or when they called me on my cell phone with requests for help. Each time we assured one another that we were going to get together and work things out.

This continued through the first 3 weeks (or innings) of the Legislative Session.

At this time, The South Florida Greyhound Association, representing the men and women that run at Hollywood and Miami, Florida, contacted Mike Labun, President of the Florida Greyhound Association, and requested a briefing of their members on the status of the Legislative Session. A meeting was scheduled for Friday, March 25 in Hollywood, Florida. All kennel owners from Hollywood and Miami were invited. The track management wanted to attend the meeting and they were invited too. At the last minute the track management announced they would not meet with the kennel owners if representatives of the NGA or FGA were present. We had a great meeting with almost all of the kennel owners present including the NGA National President and two national directors. The members were very united in their goals to maximize purses in the Florida statute and to protect the current live racing schedule.

The following week, week 4 (or the 4th inning) we had our first committee meeting in which a bill was presented. The meeting was scheduled for Thursday, March 31st at 3:00 pm.

Up until this time all other greyhound tracks in Florida had been neutral on the slots bill. I reconfirmed their neutrality at 10:30 a.m. the day of the meeting.

Representative Frank Attkisson (R-Kissimmee), Chairman of the House Business Regulation Committee, drafted a Proposed Committee Bill (PCB) that would fulfill the requirements of Article 4 only.

Representative Thad Altman (R-Melbourne) had been working for weeks on an amendment that would provide purse enhancement.

By noon the other greyhound tracks had changed their minds and now opposed adding purse language in the Florida statutes.

The committee meeting got very confusing with some tracks putting forth half-truths, innuendoes and some out right lies. We all make mistakes from time to time, but when you try to use lying as a tactic in the legislative process it catches up to you quickly.

The manager of the track in Hollywood testified to the House Committee that he had “never promised purse enhancement.”

We followed his testimony by presenting the committee a copy of the amendment to the Florida constitution, which said, in part “…authorized slot machines in existing, licensed pari-mutuel facilities……that have conducted live racing….during each of the last two calendar years…” and advised the committee you cannot have live racing without purses.

Then we presented the committee a copy of a report from the Hollywood Greyhound Track. This same report was presented to the committee the previous week by the Innovation Group, which stated “purse enhancement will support agriculture breeding and related industries statewide.” The Innovation Group report went on to present a “Business Plan for Racinos in Broward County” (Miami-Dade had been eliminated by the loss in the March 8th local referendum). The business plan that the track had presented to the committee called for “12.5%…for purse and city and county development agreements.” The presenter went on to explain that there would be 2.5% for “city and county development agreements” and 10% “for purses.”

This misrepresentation of the facts in an open committee meeting was something that some of the House leaders never forgot and in the end never forgave.

As we moved into the 5th week of the session, and past the half way point, the track began trying to force all local kennel operators to sign contracts for 5.75% less the 2.5% they had promised the cities and county. The 3.25% would have been ONLY during the live meet; making it one of the lowest purses from slots in the country and the only ones without statutory protection. This would have also set a very bad precedent for all of the NGA members throughout the country as other tracks added slots or other types of gaming machines.

After a couple of kennel operators started to try and negotiate their own side deals, thus undermining the unity pledge of the March 25th meeting.

The proposed track contract was “…not effective in the event that legislation passes,” with purse enhancement. Therefore, all of the kennel operators were released from their unity pledge.

The tracks spent so much time and effort opposing purse enhancement and supporting Grey2K, the radical Boston animal rights groups attempt to reduce the requirement to maintain the live racing that had been conducted “during each of the last two calendar years” that they lost focus on the important issues of the tax rate on slot machines and the type of slot machines. While they were misrepresenting facts about purse enhancement the Florida House was locking down on a position of a 55% tax rate and type II machines.

Grey2K and their representatives had sat in the back of the committee rooms doing crossword puzzles. They never presented their radical animal rights position to any committee. They talked to the tracks directly about the reduction of live racing dates. Grey2K also had a regulatory amendment that would have required every NGA/FGA member to file with the Department of Business Regulation every time they transferred a greyhound from track to track, track to farm or disposed of a greyhound. The department estimated this unnecessary regulatory scheme would have cost over $1.5 million. They tried to run these amendments several times, but we defeated them several times. As we said the only score that counts is the score after the 9th week (or inning) is over.

With the tracks working with Grey2K and refusing to negotiate in good faith, it became obvious that we needed to make some decisions.

In consultation with offices, directors and members of NGA, FGA and the South Florida Greyhound Association it was determined that NO bill was better than a BAD bill. Such as one that did not have realistic purse protection and the protection for live racing.

We still continued to keep the door open to the track until the end, but without any positive response.

As we entered the last day of the Legislative Session the House Leadership never forgot the misrepresentation by the track in an open committee meeting and the House would not come off their tax and machine position.

In the end the tracks greed killed the slots bill for this year and it will cost the Hollywood Greyhound Track over $100 million in lost slot revenue!


Jack Cory is with Public Affairs Consultants in Tallahassee, Florida. He can be reached at jackcory@paconsultants.com.