The suspended gambling compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Gov. Charlie Crist will undergo an intense review from a special legislative committee before lawmakers put their stamp on the deal, House Speaker Ray Sansom said Tuesday.

 

Sansom, a Destin Republican and gambling opponent, announced the creation of the Select Committee on Seminole Indian Compact Review to ''break down the compact'' that was supposed to steer millions in gambling revenues to the state. The panel will hear why the governor signed the deal in November 2007, review options for changing it and then decide whether to ratify it.

 

The compact signed by Crist and the tribe gives the Indians the right to offer Las Vegas style slot machines at their casinos in Florida as well as table games, such as black jack and baccarat. In exchange, the tribe guaranteed the state would receive $375 million over the next three years and at least $100 million a year for 25 years, as long as the state prevents the tribe's competitors -- parimutuels including horse and dog tracks and jai alai frontons -- to expand their gambling offerings.

 

Former House Speaker Marco Rubio and the House sued the governor earlier this year, alleging that the agreement violated state law because table games were not allowed under Florida law.

 

The Florida Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the House was right and it is up to the Legislature to approve or reject the deal.

 

Sansom told The Herald/Times Tuesday that although he still opposes the expansion of gambling, the House now has an obligation ``to comb through the compact so we fully understand it.''

 

The committee will make a recommendation -- to modify, ratify or reject the deal -- by the beginning of the regular legislative session in March, but the final decision will come from the full House, he said.

 

Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday he is encouraged by the creation of the committee, but he warned that legislators should not use the compact as an opportunity to draw more money from the tribe.

''I think we have a very well thought-out, well negotiated, fair compact, negotiated at a time when the economy was doing even better than it is today,'' Crist told the Times/Herald. ``So I might caution people not to be greedy.''

 

He said a gambling compact ''can be a very significant revenue source'' for the state but added that the money could be lost if the Legislature doesn't approve an agreement.

 

''My concern is if we don't enter into a compact eventually, the tribe will do what it's going to do anyway and Florida taxpayers won't benefit,'' he said.

 

Barry Richard, one of the lawyers who negotiated the compact for the Seminole Tribe, said he ''never expected the Legislature to rubber-stamp it.'' But he warned that re-opening negotiations in light of the current economic downturn might result in the tribe being unwilling to offer the terms it gave the state a year ago.

 

''The state didn't just give the tribe whatever it asked for. This was a well-negotiated compact,'' he said. ``The tribe opened its books and records, which it never does. They brought in their own accounting people and we worked out an agreement that gave Florida one of the best compacts in the country. Nobody has the guaranteed payments that Florida has.''

 

Senate leaders said Tuesday they are open to whatever the House recommends but believe the debate will also include changes to the state's slot machine laws. The Senate last year passed a bill that would lower the 50 percent tax rate on slot machines at parimutuels, as long as the money the state collects in taxes doesn't decline. The bill did not pass the House.

 

''Everything is back on the table,'' said Sen. Dennis Jones, chairman of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee. He said his goal will be to ensure there is fairness for both the tribe and parimutuels, who complain that the state's high tax rate is choking them as the Seminoles expand blackjack to casinos in Immokalee and Tampa. ''We're trying to have a little something for everybody to help the economy in Florida and help the people that are already employed,'' Jones said.

 

He believes table games will be part of the compact the Legislature approves ''because we have to give them something of value,'' but he didn't think parimutuels would win table games.