Gary Fineout - page 20

Calling it a “monumental change,” Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday asked an appeals court to reconsider a far-reaching ruling that could lead to slot machines at several dog and horse tracks. The 1st District Court of Appeal last month ordered state regulators to award a license for slot machines to a facility in the small town of Gretna, 25 miles west of Tallahassee. The ruling stated regulators should have approved slot machines because voters in Gadsden County approved…

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Gov. Rick Scott jetted off to Paris on Friday for a whirlwind visit ahead of an international air show where state officials hope to lure more business back to the Sunshine State. The trip is Scott’s 11th abroad since he became governor in 2011, but the first of his second term. His last international trip was to Japan in November 2013. This particular sojourn, however, comes at a delicate time, when the Florida Legislature is trying to wrap up work…

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Florida lawmakers, rushing to reach a final deal on a new budget over the next few days, may wind up passing roughly $400 million of tax cuts that include a 10-day back-to-school sales tax holiday. Republican leaders who had been at odds for weeks over spending appear ready to compromise over a whole range of remaining items, including a tax-cut package and whether to borrow money for land conservation and to build new college buildings. Legislators are in the middle…

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Gov. Rick Scott, narrowly re-elected just seven months ago, is discovering that the ongoing budget fight among members of his own party is leaving his own agenda in tatters. The Republican-controlled Legislature is in the middle of a contentious special session to pass a new state budget. A deep divide between the House and Senate over health care prevented the two sides from enacting a spending plan during the regular session that ended in late April. During his re-election campaign…

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Slot machines could be installed at several Florida dog and horse tracks if a far-reaching court ruling holds. A Florida appeals court on Friday ordered state regulators to award a license for slot machines to a facility located 25 miles west of Tallahassee. The decision has the potential to once again upend the state’s complicated gambling laws that currently limit slot machines to South Florida tracks and casinos run by the Seminole Tribe. The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled…

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With a looming deadline, Florida legislators return to the state Capitol this week promising to do what they couldn’t during the 60-day regular session that ended May 1. And that’s pass a new state budget that covers everything from money for schools and hospitals to paying for child abuse investigations. Legislative leaders are already promising that they will pass a budget during the 20-day session that starts Monday. They have until the end of June or parts of state government…

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