The state House conceded a major position in the effort to write a law regulating Broward County slot machines, but key differences remain with the Senate on how many machines will be allowed and how much to tax them.A bill unanimously approved Monday by the House Business Regulation Committee calls for a 55 percent tax on slot machines at Broward's three horse and dog tracks and its jai-alai fronton and limits the facilities to 1,000 machines each.
The House did drop its position of approving only "Class 2'' machines, which look like slots but are based on the game of bingo, and will go along with the Senate's demand for Las Vegas-style "Class 3'' machines.
Committee Chairman Frank Attkisson, R-Kissimmee, said the movement on the type of machine is a major concession by House Speaker Allan Bense and suggested the Senate needs to also make some movement on it's position on taxes."The speaker is very much behind 55 percent,'' Attkisson said. "He is very committed to this bill the way it is.''
If that's so, Sen. Dennis Jones said lawmakers may not be able to come to an agreement during the special session called this week to deal with the slots law and Gov. Jeb Bush's proposed Medicaid overhaul.
"When you go to negotiations have to give a little bit,'' said Jones, R-Seminole, who said the Senate has changed its position on taxes three times while the House hasn't budged. "I don't know how you negotiate if the other side doesn't compromise. So if they stay at 55 percent, I would predict we have no bill.''
The Senate believes that pari-mutuel facilities won't invest as much money on slots rooms and machines if the tax rate is too high, and so the state will get less tax money. All tax money is to go to public schools.
The Senate bill calls for a 45 percent tax rate, an increase over the original 35 percent proposal. Jones said that figure was still too high for some senators. The Senate has also moved on its position on the number of machines allowed. It originally wanted to let the market dictate the number and didn't set a limit, but now has a 2,000 machine limit.
Voters in 2004 gave Broward and Miami-Dade counties the right to decide whether slot machines could be installed at horse and dog tracks and jai-alai frontons. Last spring, Broward voters said OK and Miami-Dade voters said no.
Lawmakers were required to write a law by July 1, but didn't. A judge said Broward pari-mutuels could begin bringing in slots because of that unmet deadline, but the industry decided to wait for lawmakers to work out the language.
"I'm optimistic we will leave here with a bill, but if we don't leave here with a bill my prediction is they start without us,'' Jones said.
