Ensuring Florida provides a place where businesses want to grow and people want to live, work and play is an important quality of life pillar. To secure Florida’s future, the Florida Chamber championed important bills through the 2012 Legislative Session that will ensure our state’s strong reputation for family-friendly activities is not diminished.
Expansion of Gambling: Destination Resorts (SB 710/HB 487)
Defeating an attempt to radically expand Las Vegas-style casino gambling to Florida and preventing an attempt to undercut Florida’s long-standing tourism industry and family-friendly reputation was a Florida Chamber top priority.
Such a massive gambling expansion would have cannibalized existing businesses, and cost – rather than create – good jobs. When mega-casinos were introduced to Atlantic City, 40 percent of restaurants and approximately 30 percent of retail shut down. Additionally, gambling economies lead the nation in unemployment, foreclosures, violent crime and personal bankruptcy.
The Florida Chamber created and led the business the business community’s coalition to oppose the Bad Bet for Florida, and was joined in support by Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
When the distracting mega-casino bill died in committee, lawmakers were then able to intensify their focus on pressing issues critical to securing Florida’s future, including lowering unemployment insurance rates, helping small businesses grow and continuing to improve education. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff (R-Ft. Lauderdale) and Rep. Eric Fresen (R-Miami).
Gambling: Internet Cafes (SB 428/HB 3)
With Internet cafes spreading throughout Florida, the Florida Chamber led efforts to create a uniform statewide law allowing law enforcement to regulate illegal casino-style gaming. The measure would have also clarified laws regarding Internet cafes and the use of simulated gambling electronic machines.
Law enforcement authorities have had difficulty enforcing local prohibitions and regulations on these casino-style games because Florida lacks a uniform law to address their legality. More importantly, these games often degrade Florida’s communities and unchecked, will continue to spread at a rapid rate.
The Florida Chamber thanks Rep. Scott Plakon (R-Longwood) and Sen. Steve Oelrich (R-Gainesville) for sponsoring this important legislation.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce played a big role in killing the expansion of casino gambling in Florida in the last legislative session.
And when it inevitably comes up again next year, the president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce told a Sarasota audience last week that he will be there again to beat it back.
Building on an aggressive multi-year jobs agenda, the Florida Legislature supported 25 Florida Chamber-backed pro-business, pro-jobs bills – further reducing the cost of doing business, the number of burdensome regulations for Florida’s job creators and reforming Florida’s fraudulent auto insurance (PIP) system.
By Suzette Parmley, Inquirer Staff Writer States tend to mull over gambling bills for years. It took 15 years for slot-machine gambling to be green-lighted in Pennsylvania, with table games added 61/2 years later. Last year, Massachusetts approved up to three destination casino resorts after a decades-long debate. The Florida Legislature debated the expansion of [...]
