Florida bill allowing gambling money to be used for environmental projects heads to DeSantis

A plan that would provide gambling money for environmental projects is heading to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The House on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill (SB 1638) that would provide at least $450 million a year for issues such as buying and maintaining land in a state wildlife corridor, removing invasive species and converting properties from using septic tanks to sewer systems.

The Senate unanimously passed the plan on Feb. 22. Much of the money will come from a 2021 gambling deal that the state reached with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. House Agriculture, Conservation & Resiliency Chairman James Buchanan, R-Osprey, said the deal is projected to lead to $749 million for the state during the upcoming 2024-2025 fiscal year.

“Through this bill, we’re going to be conserving land, recharging our aquifer, ensuring biodiversity, improving water quality, investing in our state’s resiliency, preserving and keeping working land working,” Buchanan said.

The gambling deal, known as a “compact,” allows the tribe to offer online sports betting statewide and provide games such as craps at its casinos. In exchange, the tribe pledged to pay $2.5 billion to the state over the first five years —- and possibly billions of dollars more throughout the three-decade pact.

The compact money next fiscal year is expected to provide $100 million for land acquisition, $150 million for flood control and $96 million for land management, with the money spread to the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Two pari-mutuel companies, West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corp., are challenging the gambling deal in state and federal courts.

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