Florida Senate Committee Advances Controversial Decoupling Bill but Amends Time Frame to Seven Years

[Wandering Eyes]

A Senate committee advanced Florida's controversial decoupling bill at a Tuesday hearing after amending the legislation so that the effective date for removing the live racing requirement for Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs to operate their respective casino and card room would be seven years instead of the five years that appears in the amended companion House bill.

After absorbing more than two hours of testimony–almost all of it from Thoroughbred trainers, owners, breeders, sales company officials, veterinarians and other industry workers speaking out against the bill–Senator Jennifer Bradley (R), who chairs the Committee on Regulated Industries, pre-empted what she seemed to know would be the bill's inevitable approval by the eight-member committee by declaring it a “tough issue” and promising industry stakeholders that the legislative dialogue about decoupling is far from over.

“I think what you have on this committee are a group of senators who are committed to your future,” Bradley said. “We don't know what that future looks like right now, but we are committed to have those conversations and to see what the future looks like. It is not a reflection of how incredibly valuable horsing is to the state and racing. This is the start of the conversation, and I can assure you that the senators up here will make sure that that conversation happens.

“The Senate bill looks very different than the House bill,” Bradley said. “And it gives a seven-year glide path. It doesn't upend agreements, revenue shares. It says if you want to decouple, it will happen in seven years and we are going to have time to have that conversation. It needs to happen now because that uncertainty acts as a cloud on everyone in this room. And we need to have that conversation. We need to make that bargain.

“Two years ago everyone else [in Florida in the gaming sector] was decoupled,” Bradley said. “But not [Thoroughbred racing]. And there is an unfairness in that. There is a sense that the future does not look like the way it is as we sit here today. Things are changing. They're going to change. Let's find a better future with a better balance that is going to let the horse industry thrive. There is no one here that is just wanting to throw it to the side and say, 'If it doesn't work, it doesn't work.' I promise you, this Legislature and the Senate recognizes the value [of] this industry.”

A busload of Thoroughbred industry supporters had traveled from Ocala to Tallahassee to attend the Apr. 1 hearing, and although some stakeholders waived their right to publicly speak after having it read into the record that they opposed the bill, those who did step up to the podium outnumbered supporters by 30 to 1.

Many of the Thoroughbred constituents came prepared with long, written-out speeches or talking points, but the sheer volume of people signing up to publicly comment on the issue meant that Senator Bradley had to curtail their speaking time to 90 seconds each. Thus, some speakers who couldn't adhere to that time constraint were asked to stand down before they had built up to their main points.

Those who did testify spoke of their love for horses, the trickle-down effects of the Thoroughbred industry on other sectors, and Florida's importance as an anchor point for the entire national racing landscape.

The bill has the backing and was launched at the impetus of Gulfstream's corporate owner, The Stronach Group (TSG). Several speakers in opposition took direct aim at that entity.

“They leveraged our industry to gain entry [into gaming], and now that they've benefitted, they want to cast us aside,” testified David O'Farrell, who serves as the third-generation general manager of his family's Ocala Stud.

“Basic business sense tells us we have to grow supply and demand,” testified trainer Jena Antonucci. “If we are shrinking our racing demand, it makes it virtually impossible to grow our supply side. The consideration of an asset strip of a Canadian company, which is what [TSG] is, does not allow us to build on the foundation of free market on the racing side, on the breeding side, on the farm side.”

Trainer Mark Casse testified that, “Considering the livelihoods of 30,000 hard-working individuals in Florida rural communities, [the bill] would provide a death blow to the Thoroughbred racing and breeding industries in one full sweep.”

Jeff Johnston, whose lobbying firm represents Gulfstream, testified in favor of the bill.

“The Florida breeders have a racing permit that they have protected for 20 years. My question is, why aren't they racing?” Johnston asked rhetorically. “Out of our slots, we subsidize the industry to the tune of about $6 million [annually]. The other thing that wasn't mentioned is that this [legislative] body gave this industry a state subsidy two years ago.”

Senator Jason Pizzo (D), the committee's vice-chair, prefaced his remarks prior to the vote by stating that he respected those who testified against the bill, describing the Thoroughbred constituents as “salt of the earth, working with a pick and shovel, but also incredibly intelligent” people who are just “trying to get a piece of the American dream.”

But, Pizzo continued, “the problem is, when you talk about supply and demand, when you talk about growth [but] you do so on a subsidy, that's not sustainable. That's not. When you talk about, 'We need this, we need this, we need this, but oh, a few years ago, we did the same thing', that's not genuine.”

Pizzo continued: “This is the only, and I've searched long and far, the only completely government-subsidized [as a pass-through from a private enterprise] industry in Florida–the only one.”

Pizzo said he was sympathetic to those who testified that they felt blindsided by the bill's introduction earlier this winter, but he opined that it shouldn't have been difficult for the Thoroughbred stakeholders to see decoupling coming.

“I'm sorry you found out a few weeks ago. I've been meeting with horse breeders the last few years,” Pizzo said. “Hallandale Beach is my district. Gulfstream is in my district. You know what I've been pushing for? Get rid of the slot machines. Hand them back.

“I want you to build affordable housing. I want you to build some commercial spaces. You know what Gulfstream Park has done? And honestly, I know they're foreign or whatever. You know what they've done? They provided land to the cities of Aventura for schools and for housing. I would like there to be more housing. It's not even close to being the highest and best use [of that land] for being a racetrack. I would like on that supply and demand side for there to be housing.”

Pizzo continued: “And let me tell you what the worst-case scenario is here, folks, for all you people who put your blood, sweat and tears into animals, and to your family and to the community. The worst thing is when you do have a wealthy owner of an operation [who] to prove a point says, 'Take [back] the slot machines.' And guess what? There is no more casino if that's your argument. And there is no more industry.”

Senator Blaise Ingoglia (R), struck a more empathetic tone in explaining his vote.

“I struggle with this whole issue mostly because I live relatively close to Ocala. I understand what the horse industry is to the state of Florida in terms of economic impact. I also understand that that industry was built upon a promise. And the promise has been used as a political football for as long as I've been in the legislature, and probably before that,” Ingoglia said.

“I am not for the decoupling, and it seems that I may be alone [among committee members] on this. And the reason is because I don't think it's right that we should have second-, third-, fourth-generation horsemen that have built their whole existence on a promise that the government can then take away,” Ingoglia said.

“What I see in the middle of this state in horse country [is] how hard everyone works. And I think the people in this room who've testified against this bill would agree with me in that not only is it like a way of life, it's also like a religion. It's a godly experience to be out in horse country,” Ingoglia said.

“I am a no [vote] today. But I hope that this conversation that we're having today [allows] everyone to get in a room and try to figure out a grand bargain where we can have a win-win-win situation. What I'm seeing right now is that not everyone is winning, and I just cannot support it,” Ingoglia said.

The Senate bill heads next to the Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government, and then to the Rules Committee.

Florida's legislative session is expected to end May 2.

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