Full casino gambling in Florida by end of year?

[bocablkr]

From today's Sun-Sentinal:

Ask the governor: Why I want to negotiate with tribe


Q. I believe it's only a matter of time before we will have full casino gambling. Why would we not negotiate with the American Indians and use the profits to fund real insurance and property tax reform?

A. I don't know about the first part [of your question]. I'm not sure about that.

But it's only smart for us to negotiate with the [Seminole] Tribe. Two governmental entities have input in this process ... it's the U.S. Department of Interior and the state of Florida.

If I were to decide not to negotiate with the Seminoles, more than likely the Department of Interior would do so directly. And the effect of that would be that we couldn't negotiate for any of the resources, the monies, to come to the state to be used for the people as a whole. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. So, I have indicated I am willing to negotiate, and we have actually begun [the process] now. My chief of staff, George LeMieux, who grew up in Fort Lauderdale, is heading that up ... so that's moving forward.

In addition, I met with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Dick Kempthorn, and expressed our desire to negotiate as a state with the Seminoles, and he was very respectful of that. I don't know the exact time frame ... maybe by the end of the year we'll have some resolution, if not sooner.

Compiled by Tallahassee Bureau Chief Linda Kleindienst.