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Cover Stories Summer 2001 Florida Ballot Initiative to Legalize Slot Machines Faces Legal Challenges
The proposed constitutional amendment would allow each county with existing pari-mutuel facilities — horse and dog tracks and jai alai frontons to hold its own referendum on whether to allow the slot machines at those facilities. Floridians for a Level Playing Field, a political action committee made up of South Florida dog and horse track owners, filed a ballot initiative petition with the Florida Secretary of State last fall and began collecting signatures from registered voters. On April 15 the state elections division certified 53,537 of those signatures, enough to trigger a review by the Florida Attorney General and state Supreme Court. After reviewing the ballot initiative’s language, Attorney General Robert Butterworth questioned whether it misleads voters, meets legal requirements, and meets the state’s single-subject rule. In a May 18 advisory opinion delivered to state Supreme Court Justice Charles Wells, Butterworth said that although the ballot summary indicates that residents in every county with pari-mutuels would get to vote on whether to allow slot machines, the amendment “does not appear to require” that the issue be put to voters. “Thus voters may believe . . . that they will be guaranteed a referendum on this issue when the language of the amendment does not necessarily support such a conclusion,” he wrote. Additionally, Butterworth found that the language mixes two subjects by requiring taxes from the slot machines to be spent on senior citizens or education. “Requiring voters to choose which classifications they feel most strongly about and then requiring them to cast an all or nothing vote on the classifications listed in the amendment, defies the purpose of the single-subject limitation,” Butterworth wrote. Animal Protection Groups Unite A national coalition of greyhound advocates and animal protection groups led by GREY2K USA launched a legal challenge of the slot machine initiative May 22. According to a press release issued from GREY2K USA’s Boston office, attorney Mark Herron has been retained to represent the coalition before the Florida Supreme Court. Herron is a former chairman of the Florida Commission on Ethics and has appeared as counsel in opposition to several proposed initiatives. “Review of the proposed slot machine initiative indicates that . . . its ballot summary is not an accurate reflection of what is contained in the amendment,” Herron said. “We will present our arguments to the Florida Supreme Court and are confident that it will agree.” Other coalition members include: Animal Protection Institute, The Ark Trust, Friends of Animals, Greyhound Protection League, Last Chance for Animals, Michigan Retired Greyhounds as Pets, National Coalition Against Gambling Expansion, National Greyhound Adoption Program, and the World Society for the Protection of Animals. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) also announced its opposition to the ballot initiative and the formation of a coalition with other animal protection organizations, including The Fund for Animals. Orlando-based No Casinos in Florida, Inc. has also joined the HSUS coalition. John Sowinski, spokesman for No Casinos, called the initiative “another attempt by the pari-mutuel industry to keep a pulse.” No Casinos successfully fought the industry’s expanded gambling initiatives in 1978, 1986, and 1994. “This effort to add slot machines to greyhound tracks is a desperate attempt to breathe life into a dying industry,” said Wayne Pacelle, a senior vice president at the HSUS. “The greyhound racing industry has a long record of exploiting and abusing dogs, and citizens concerned about the welfare of dogs should vigorously oppose this ballot initiative.” The Florida Supreme Court set a June 11 deadline for submission of written briefs. Oral argument is scheduled for 9:00 a.m., Monday, Oct. 21, 2001. The high court has the final word on whether the initiative will appear on the ballot. If approved, Floridians for a Level Playing Field will need 488,722 signatures for ballot qualification. Big Money Campaign The owners of the Hollywood and Flagler dog tracks and the Pompano harness track comprise Floridians for a Level Playing Field. Tracks in Broward, Escambia, and Miami-Dade counties have donated to the group, which had raised $726,000 as of March 31. The group has spent nearly $700,000 promoting the measure and paying signature solicitors to get voters to sign the petition. Dan Atkins, general manager of the Hollywood track, is the chairman of the pro-slots group. “The bottom line is, gambling exists in the state right now, the state just doesn’t have any control over it,” Atkins said, referring to unregulated and untaxed cruise-to-nowhere gambling boats operating in international waters off Florida’s coast. Adkins added, “We’re just looking to add French fries and milkshakes to our hamburger menu.” Susan McManus, political science professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa who keeps close tabs on gaming issues in Florida, said keeping the slot machines at the tracks and not allowing for full-scale casinos statewide could help the initiative’s chances for success. “But if I were a betting person,” she said, “I’d bet against it.” Sources: St. Petersburg
Times: Alisa Ulferts |