State Seeks Court Review Of Poarch Creek Gretna Slots Decision
June 13, 2015
Calling it “a jaw-dropping gambling expansion,” state officials asked Friday for a full-court rehearing of an appellate decision that ordered gambling regulators to allow a North Florida horse track operated by the Poarch Creek Indians of Atmore to have slot machines.
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s lawyers filed the request for rehearing with the 1st District Court of Appeal on behalf of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which rejected Gretna Racing’s application for slot machines nearly two years ago.
“If left uncorrected, the decision would effect a widespread expansion of gambling that the Legislature never intended,” Solicitor General Allen Winsor and Jonathan Glogau, Bondi’s chief of complex litigation, wrote in the 11-page filing.
The Gretna case centered on a provision of a 2009 Florida law that allows counties to have slot machines if voters approve them locally. The law, which went into effect the following year, was an expansion of a 2004 voter-approved constitutional amendment that authorized slot machines at seven existing horse and dog tracks and jai-alai frontons in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
The 2009 law was part of a comprehensive gambling bill that accompanied a $1 billion, 20-year deal between the state and the Seminole Tribe that included a provision giving the tribe exclusive rights to operate banked card games, including blackjack. The agreement, called a compact, allows the tribe to stop payments if pari-mutuels outside of Broward and Miami-Dade counties start operating the lucrative slot machines.
A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal heard the Gretna case and issued a 2-1 ruling on May 29. The ruling rejected the state’s argument that the Legislature must give counties permission to hold referendums to authorize slots, but the ruling also asked the Supreme Court to review the issue.
The state’s request Friday asks that the full appeals court rehear the case, which is known as seeking an “en banc” hearing.
Voters in six counties — including Gadsden, where the Gretna track is located — have approved referendums allowing slots at local pari-mutuels. The Palm Beach Kennel Club is the only other facility that had applied for and been refused a slots license.
“According to the panel majority, the Legislature intended to allow this jaw-dropping gambling expansion without any further action by the Florida Legislature. This is so, the panel majority concluded, even though the language at issue was adopted as part of the same legislative enactment that approved the Seminole compact … meaning that in one vote, legislators approved the compact and ‘eliminate[d] the state’s control over its continued entitlement to a substantial amount of revenue from the Seminole Tribe,’ ” Bondi’s lawyers wrote. “The panel majority’s opinion is wrong.”
The Gretna track has a history of controversy. It is believed to be the first facility in the country to receive a pari-mutuel license for rodeo-style barrel racing, something a court later decided state regulators had granted in error.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Lawmakers Strike Deal On Hospital Funding
June 13, 2015
Lawmakers struck a deal Friday on how to spend about $2 billion in hospital funding in the budget year that begins July 1, clearing a key sticking point in talks about a state spending plan and potentially clearing the way to end a special session next week as scheduled.
The agreement on divvying up the mixture of local, state and federal dollars among dozens of hospitals across Florida caps a debate that helped derail the regular spring session and forced lawmakers to return to Tallahassee this month. House and Senate negotiators are racing the clock to try to finish their work in time for a vote on the budget by the scheduled June 20 conclusion of the special session, 10 days before the state must have a spending plan to avoid a government shutdown.
Lawmakers had already decided how to buffer hospitals from the drop in funding in the Low Income Pool program, which provides additional money to hospitals and other health-care providers that care for large numbers of low-income patients. The federal government is reducing the so-called “LIP” program from $2.2 billion in the current budget year, which ends June 30, to $1 billion next year. The legislative plan will use state money to draw down other federal funds to boost payments to all hospitals for Medicaid services in an effort to offset that drop.
But until Friday, there was no agreement on the formula that would be used to distribute the money through the state’s health-care system.
“It’s important … that we provided some stability in the health-care system for hospitals to understand that, yes, Low Income Pool is going to change, but we’re going to make a financial commitment on the state standpoint to help in that transition, and that’s what we did,” said Senate President Andy Gardiner, an Orlando Republican and health-care executive. “Once that was done, I think that’s a huge step forward.”
A spokesman for Gov. Rick Scott, who has voiced opposition to using state tax dollars to fill in the loss of LIP, said the governor’s office was still reviewing the proposal.
With the budget deadline looming, there are still areas of disagreement between the two chambers that will need to be hammered out, including some education policy provisions that the Senate wants to place into a budget-related bill and how to prune an expansive list of water projects into the amount set aside for that purpose. Hours after the agreement on LIP was announced, Gardiner and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, said the chambers’ budget chiefs would continue negotiations through the weekend.
Crisafulli and Gardiner had been scheduled to start direct negotiations on the spending plan after Friday. Instead, House Appropriations Chairman Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, and Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon, will continue their talks.
“We look forward to using this last week of the special session to finalize a balanced budget and deliver broad-based tax reform legislation,” Crisafulli and Gardiner said in a joint statement. “We look forward to an on-time finish.”
As for the LIP model itself, Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Chairman Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, said lawmakers tried as much as possible to lessen the impact of the changes in funding.
“Obviously, there are going to be winners and losers,” he said. “We tried to make sure that we smoothed out and helped those hospitals that were losing more money because of the formula that we came up with. It’s not a perfect formula, but it’s the fairest formula we could come up with to make sure that we ensure that these hospitals, especially the safety nets, were taken care of.”
Still, some hospitals lost money. Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami would see the payments it receives from the state — after contributions the hospital makes to the formula — tumble from $270.5 million under the old model to $263.8 million under the new formula. Funding for Bay Medical Center, in Bay County, would slide from $12.8 million to almost $9.9 million.
There were winners as well. Miami Children’s Hospital, for example, would see its share of the funds increase from almost $51.9 million in the current year to almost $57.9 million next year.
While many were still crunching the numbers Friday, hospital executives applauded parts of the deal, such as $100 million to increase medical residencies in the state.
“This is a big step toward ensuring that Florida has the physicians needed to meet the health care demands of our growing, aging and increasingly diverse population,” said Carlos Migoya, president and CEO of Jackson Health System and chairman of the board of the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida. “This will go a long way toward reducing the specialist shortage that everyone agrees must be addressed now.”
Lawmakers also set aside $50 million to fund programs that generally receive help from LIP but otherwise might have been left out of the formula.
Challenges remain in the future. The federal government has told state officials that they can expect to see LIP fall to about $600 million next year.
“And we know that next year we’re going to be working with $400 million less, so we took a proactive approach to make sure that we lessened the blow as it relates to the following year, the outlying years,” Garcia said.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
License-Free Freshwater Fishing This Weekend In Florida
June 13, 2015
This weekend offers freshwater license-free fishing in Florida for residents and visitors.
On Saturday and Sunday, June 13-14, the freshwater recreational fishing license requirement will be waived.
Governor Scott said, “This summer, we’re excited to make it easier for families to enjoy the world class fishing our state has to offer. Florida is the fishing capital of the world and one of the many reasons we welcomed a record 98.9 million visitors to the Sunshine State last year. I look forward to fishing with my grandsons this summer, and I hope everyone takes advantage of license-free fishing this month.”
All bag limits, seasons and size restrictions apply on the license-free dates.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Typical Summer Weekend Weather
June 13, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Saturday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Monday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Wednesday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 95.
Wednesday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72.
Thursday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93.
Thursday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72.
Friday
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
Wahoos A Washout
June 13, 2015
Friday night’s game between the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and the Montgomery Biscuits was rained out.
Friday’s game will be made up Saturday night during a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. in Montgomery.
Pensacola’s Tim Adleman (2-6, 2.33) will pitch the first game, while reliever Jacob Johnson (3-1, 4.61), who has pitched in 14 relief appearances, is scheduled to make a spot start. The Blue Wahoos return home for a five-game series against the Mobile BayBears Wednesday June 17-21.
Scott Heads To Paris Air Show
June 13, 2015
Donning his Sunshine State salesman hat, Gov. Rick Scott left Friday for the Paris Air Show for what is likely to be an abbreviated weekend promo.
Scott’s trip comes even as lawmakers enter the final week of the special session — slated to end Friday — focused on a state spending plan for the fiscal year that ends June 30.
Scott, who is expected to return Monday, is traveling to the 51st International Paris-Le Bourget Air Show with officials from Enterprise Florida and 17 Florida-based companies. The renowned trade show runs from Monday to June 21.
Scott’s travel plans should allow him to attend the opening of the Enterprise Florida pavilion at the air show, which includes vendor space — costing from $8,860 to $21,600 — for the Florida companies. The first four days of the event are restricted to industry representatives, followed by three days open to the general public.
“Governor Scott is confident this economic development trip will result in job creation for Florida,” Scott spokeswoman Jeri Bustamante said in an email.
Enterprise Florida spokeswoman Beth Frady said the agency’s staff has lined up more than 40 “one-on-one” business-development meetings during the air show. The show “provides a unique and cost-effective platform for business and trade development in the state,” Frady said.
Enterprise Florida claims that the 2013 Paris Air Show, also attended by Scott, generated more than $170 million in export sales for the Florida exhibitors on the trip and spawned more than more than 40 projects involving aviation, aerospace and defense.
According to the organization, Scott’s first-term international excursions — to Panama, Canada, Brazil, Israel, Spain, the United Kingdom, Colombia, Chile, France and Japan — resulted in sales topping $474 million for the companies that participated in the missions.
The effectiveness of the trips, however, remains suspect to some.
Ben Wilcox, research director of the Tallahassee watchdog group Integrity Florida, wants more details about the trips from Enterprise Florida, which has its expenses covered by private and public dollars.
“I would be skeptical of the numbers provided by Enterprise Florida and would like to see a more specific breakdown of how much in sales each company benefited from,” Wilcox said. “There needs to be more transparency and accountability before the public can know whether these missions are justified. The same can be said about Gov. Scott’s attendance.”
Paris marks Scott’s first international business trip since he went to Japan in November 2013. He put such ventures on hold during his re-election bid last year.
Scott’s office waited until the final moments before the governor’s Friday afternoon departure early to announce he was taking part in the Enterprise Florida trip. Until Thursday, his aides said “it will be a game-time decision” if Scott would embark on the mission while lawmakers were busy finalizing budget details.
by Jim Turner, The News Service Of Florida
New Signal Now Active At Highway 29, Highway 97 In Molino
June 12, 2015
The new traffic signal at Highway 29 and Highway 97 in Molino became operational Thursday. Drivers are being advised by the Florida Department of Transportation to use caution when approaching the intersection.
The new signal is mounted on horizontal mast arms. Since the signal is in the horizontal position, motorists with color weakness problems will need to remember red is on the left and green on the right.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century Continues Work To Hammer Out New Budget
June 12, 2015
The Town of Century continued work on their 2015-2016 budget Thursday during a special council workshop meeting.
Additional budget workshops are planned for Thursday, June 18 and Thursday July 9. An additional budget workshop will Thursday, July 16, if needed. All meetings will be held at 1:30 p.m. on the listed dates in the council chambers at the Century Town Hall at 7995 North Century Boulevard.
Final approval for the budget will come in September, with Century’s 2015-2016 fiscal year beginning October 1.
The Town of Century’s budget for the current fiscal year is $5.1 million.
Tate Senior Norre Named Florida VFW Eagle Scout Of The Year
June 12, 2015
Tate High School senior Jacob Norre was named the Florida VFW Eagle Scout of the Year during a special ceremony Thursday in Orlando. Norre was presented the award and a scholarship by Gov. Rick Scott.
Norre’s application for the award was presented by Pensacola VFW Post 706. He is a member of Boy Scout Troop 628 charted by the Gonzales United Methodist Men.
Norre was also recently named a drum major for the Tate High School Showband of the South.
Free Sports Physicals For All NHS Athletes
June 12, 2015
Free sports physicals will be offered for all Northview High School athletes this Saturday, June 13 at 7 a.m. at the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze. All forms must be complete and signed by a parent prior to the physicals.
Click here to download the physical form.