The Florida House Committee exists

After almost two hours of debate and testimony, the House Commerce Committee from Florida passed Bill HB 105 on Monday, which eliminates the requirement that the two remaining racetracks in Florida races to offer alternative forms of gambling such as slot machines, map rooms and casinos. The draft law sponsored by Adam Anderson, Republican representative Adam Anderson, is now on the market for the entire house.

A similar draft law was submitted in the Senate, but must still be heard in the committees.

“Today's coordination in the House Commerce Committee was disappointing,” said Lonny Powell, CEO of the Florida full blood breeder and owner association. “Let me be clear: The latest changes to HB 105 are not a compromise – you are designed in such a way that you sink Florida's vital thoroughbred industries. No matter how our opponents try to turn it, this Bill Decovert decouples from the game requirements approved by the voters. This means fewer races, fewer jobs and fewer opportunities for the hard -working Floridians dedicated to this industry, including the passionate riders and women from the farms and barns who said today.

“If this calculation goes away, it will curl through the entire state economy, decrease a large industry and send florida jobs and horses to other states and our dollars to Toronto. This industry has helped Florida's economy for generations to the power of Florida's economy, and we must not allow a bad special interest policy to break it down. “

Several changes to the original invoice were made, including a provision that the routes have to continue until 2030 if the decoupling fits. If you intend to close the traces, you have to give the state an announcement of three years and this notification can only be submitted on July 1, 2027.

Proponents of the legislation tried to argue that the adoption of HB105 would actually benefit the horses. Representative Chase Tramont asked Anderson: “What problem do we try to solve with this bill?” Anderson replied: “It actually guarantees the race for the next five years. There was no track with which I spoke to intend to stop the race. This calculation is structured in such a way that it (the breeding industry) supports it to support it so that it can stand independently of blows and cards and thrive itself. “

Anderson could not adequately explain how that was possible.

When the representative Michele Raynor was asked whether the draft law would benefit 1/st racing and no one else, Anderson again drove his co-legislators to convince that this was a win-win situation for everyone.

“This supports an industry as a whole,” said Anderson. “Not just one or two units … We support this industry in a number of areas and assure that it gives several ways to be successful. We remove a barrier in which the industry is currently checked by only two traces. This invoice offers these owners the opportunity to transfer their licenses. If you don't want to stay in the horse business, you have to. The only option you have is to close the shop. This offers you a way for you to transfer this license to someone who wants to carry out a race track or to move your license to the location to the location, which is more economical for your business model. “

Several industrial interest groups spoke during the public statement. Everyone was pretty much the same: Why do you try to kill an important industry that offers thousands of jobs and has a great economic impact on the state so that Florida can have another casino?

“This calculation would sacrifice Florida full -bydown races,” said coach Mark Casse. “Breeding, sales, training, mainly in the rural core of the state to benefit a person. Florida and increased horses are an estimated export product throughout America and even overseas. The decoupling would destroy rural in Florida. “

He continued: “1/ST race deliberately put all the eggs in a basket and are now ready to leave Florida race like Post -Herbst -Humpty -Dumpty. Today, over 3,000 thoughts are classified in South Florida and 1,500 all year round in winter. Without a gulfstream, most of these horses and these workplaces will leave the state. This adoption of the invoice leads 90% of the trainers with the terrible decision to leave their houses or to leave the business together. This problem is much larger than me. There are about $ 3.2 billion in economic effects per year. We don't ask for a handout. We ask Florida to recognize that the investment in the thoroughbred racing industry is no different from investing in other labor -intensive industries that contribute billions of dollars in the entire state.

“I leave it with one question: is it worth destroying an industry that influences the life of tens of thousands of thousands of people?”

Sometimes Anderson was defensive and claimed that the industry had done better if it could have worked with it before the invoice was created.

“We spoke to the industry and I personally met several representatives in the industry and I asked them all the same thing, which tell me a plan, a suggestion, what they need and how they look at the industry from their part?” he said. “We didn't understand that. Instead, each of these various associations hired a team of lobbyists to combat the bill. I will ask you why you spend this money for lobbyists if you should invest this money back in the people you should represent. People who are horse, the trainers, the owners, the jockeys. This is one of the root problems with which we are confronted. The way the money flows does not come into the right hands. This calculation deals with that. “

“I also want to say that I am a lover of the horse industry. I love the track, I love the animal. I am a horse owner myself. In my opinion, it would be an absolute failure if the race in the state of Florida ended. Most opponents of this legislation have spoken. What happens when the race ends? This legislation is carefully created to do everything in our legislative authority to ensure that this does not happen. “

If the law is likely to occur in front of the house in front of the house, the fight will go to the Senate. According to a source, the Senate is known that it is more for the race and breeding than the house.