Governor of Florida Is Rebuffed on Gambling

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Gov. Charlie Crist overstepped his authority when he negotiated a deal last year that let the Seminole Tribe of Florida install slot machines and offer table games like blackjack and baccarat at its Florida casinos.

The court said that Mr. Crist could not allow the tribe to conduct types of gambling that were currently illegal in the rest of the state. Although slot machines have been approved by voters in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, state law prohibits other types of gambling like blackjack.

“The governor has no authority to change or amend state law,” wrote Justice Raoul G. Cantero in the near unanimous ruling. “Such power falls exclusively to the Legislature. Therefore, we hold that the governor lacked authority to bind the state to a compact that violates Florida law, as this compact does.”

Despite the ruling, a spokesman for the Seminole Tribe said there were no “immediate” plans to stop the games while legal options were being explored.

The tribe, which has seven casinos in Florida, began putting in slot machines in January and last month added blackjack and baccarat at its Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

Mr. Crist, a Republican, had unilaterally reached the deal with the Seminoles last November. The tribe had negotiated unsuccessfully with other governors — both Republican and Democratic — for nearly 16 years before reaching the deal with him.

Mr. Crist had argued that the deal was necessary because the tribe was entitled to slot machines since voters had approved them for dog tracks and horse tracks in South Florida. Without the extra incentives, the tribe would not have been obligated to give Florida any compensation. The tribe has so far given $60.4 million to Florida, said Gary Bitner, a spokesman for the tribe.

The deal came under fire from other Republicans staunchly opposed to gambling, and lawmakers have refused to spend any of the money from the Seminoles. Speaker Marco Rubio, Republican of West Miami, went to court just days after Governor Crist announced the compact to challenge it. Mr. Rubio called the court’s ruling a “victory for our constitutional system of checks and balances.”

Mr. Crist, who was out of town on Thursday, did not respond to the ruling. But George LeMieux, his former chief of staff who had helped negotiate the deal, criticized the Legislature for not considering the issue during its annual session this spring.

source:NYTIMES