Slots agreement in Fla.

According to news reports, Florida legislative leaders signed off on a slots agreement late Wednesday that would put 1,500 slot machines at Broward County pari-mutuel facilities within six months. The full legislature must still vote on the matter.



The compromise ended a battle between the House and Senate, where lawmakers had their own ideas about how many slots should be at the tracks and what the tax rate and operating hours should be. Last March Broward voters approved slots within their borders, but the anti-gambling legislature failed to agree on regulatory issues during its spring session. Gov. Jeb Bush called the legislature into special session this week to address an overhaul of Medicaid and the slots issue.



The agreement calls for a 50 percent tax rate, but there was no immediate indication how much money that would raise for Florida's schools.



Gov. Bush seemed to prompt the agreement on Wednesday by expressing a fear that the courts would step in to regulate slots. "At some point the courts will take this over and I think that's a good motivating factor," Bush said early Wednesday. "We are duty bound to implement this. If we don't ... we'll be transferring that duty to the courts."



The state Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering will have six months to develop regulations. Each facility, which would be allowed to operate their slot machines 16 hours a day, would be charged a $3 million licensing fee to pay for the cost of regulation.

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