(April 16, 2013)

The Florida House and Senate announced the joint selection of Spectrum Gaming Group to complete a two-part study of gaming in Florida to assist the Legislature in better understanding the economic, fiscal, and social impacts of possible changes in Florida’s gaming environment.

“Spectrum has extensive experience in providing independent studies of gaming in a variety of jurisdictions, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Ohio,” said Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford (R-Wesley Chapel). “I look forward to reviewing their report as we take a holistic view of the role gaming plays in Florida’s economy.”

The gaming study will provide a comprehensive analysis of gaming market information, to include: an assessment of the Florida gaming industry and its economic and social effects; an assessment of various potential changes in the gaming industry and their potential economic and social effects (including effects on other areas of the economy); and a statistical analysis of relationships between gaming and economic variables for communities.

“The Florida Lottery, Seminole casinos, and gaming activities at licensed pari-mutuel facilities generate substantial economic activity; however, the State’s management of these activities has been focused on piecemeal changes, not a comprehensive policy that integrates gaming into the broader Florida economy,” said Senate President Don Gaetz (R-Niceville). “This study will help House and Senate committees comprehensively examine gaming issues, including those that will affect the scheduled renegotiation of the Seminole Gaming Compact.”

“Spectrum is honored by this selection, as we realize the importance of this study to Florida’s policymakers in so many ways, from the future of its tourism industry to the quality of life for its citizens,” said Michael Pollock, Spectrum Gaming Group’s Managing Director.

The gaming study is divided into sub-parts, which will be addressed in separate reports delivered in July and October. The total cost of the two-part gaming study is $388,845. A complete description of the scope of work is contained at pages 11-13 of the Invitation to Negotiate, which can be found via the Gaming Study Home Page.

Spectrum’s project team includes: Dr. Howard Shaffer, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Division on Addiction at The Cambridge Health Alliance, a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate; Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI); Doug Walker, Associate Professor of Economics at the College of Charleston; and, Lori Pennington-Gray, Associate Director of the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute at the University of Florida.

Procurement Process

The Legislature conducted a competitive procurement process to select a vendor. An Invitation to Negotiate was issued in February. Seven vendors submitted replies by the deadline. An evaluation team composed of House and Senate staff reviewed the proposals in detail and selected three vendors for continued negotiations (Spectrum Gaming Group, The Innovation Group, and MGT of America). After negotiations, House and Senate staff provided recommendations to the Speaker Weatherford and President Gaetz, respectively, regarding the selection of a vendor to provide the highest overall value to the Florida Legislature.

For more information on the gaming study and procurement process, please visit the Gaming Study Home Page located at http://www.leg.state.fl.us/GamingStudy.

(April 23, 2013)

Today, Governor Rick Scott issued a statement on the continuing furloughing of FAA employees due to sequestration:

Governor Scott said, “Today is day three of FAA furloughs. Planes are being delayed and backups are mounting; still, no word from the President in response to our call to immediately end FAA furloughs. For the benefit of the countless families that depend on flight and tourism for their livelihoods, I again call on the President to go back to the drawing board. The federal government can solve this budget mess with common sense budget reductions, just as we have had to do at the state level. Each day without action, is another day we risk our positive economic momentum in Florida.”

According to Flightstats.com, on Monday, there were nearly 7,000 flights delayed nationwide and 400 flights were cancelled. New York’s LaGuardia Airport posted that more than 50 percent of flights were delayed, at Fort Lauderdale more than 48 percent of its flights were delayed and more than 47 percent were delayed at Orlando.

(Source: The Orlando Sentinel, April 22, 2013)

Backed by the president of the state Senate, a small Florida county is challenging the state’s tourism industry over how it can spend its hotel taxes.

Okaloosa County, a coastal Panhandle community whose economy relies on tourists visiting its white-sand beaches, has asked the Florida Legislature for the ability to use its “tourist development” taxes to pay for lifeguards and beach patrols.

The move puts the county of fewer than 200,000 people on a collision course with major Florida tourism businesses, who have for years aggressively lobbied against efforts to give counties more freedom over how to spend the tax they charge on hotel stays.

Under current law, counties are forced to spend hotel-tax dollars primarily on things that generate more tourism, such as travel advertising and convention centers. Industry executives want to keep it that way.

But Okaloosa County has enlisted an influential ally: Senate President Don Gaetz, a Republican who represents the region in the Legislature.

Gaetz said it makes sense to pay for lifeguards with tourist taxes.

“I think there’s a hard-wired relationship between safe beaches and tourists going to beaches,” said Gaetz, R-Niceville. “I can tell you, living in a coastal county, that one of the things that you never want to have advertised in Alabama, in Georgia, in Tennessee … is a drowning and media reports that there wasn’t a beach patrol and there weren’t lifeguards.”

Forcing counties to cover those costs with property taxes or some other revenue source drains money that can be spent directly on local needs, such as police, parks and sidewalks.

“Taxpayers do have a point that they want their tax money to be used for critical services that benefit the county and its residents,” Gaetz said. “And if there are special services that have a disproportionate benefit to tourism, maybe that’s what the tourism-development tax ought to do.”

The issue arose in Okaloosa after an embezzlement scandal that led to a state audit of the county’s bed-tax finances. Among the many findings: Okaloosa had inappropriately spent $2.5 million during a two-year period to pay for lifeguards and beach shuttles, because such expenses were not explicitly allowed under Florida law.

At Gaetz’s request, the Senate Appropriations Committee last week inserted a provision into a broad tax-administration package (SB 1828) that would authorize Okaloosa County to use hotel taxes on “beach-safety personnel and lifeguard operational activities” at public-access beaches.

The initial version would have made an exception only for Okaloosa. But Gaetz said it will soon be rewritten — likely this week on the Senate floor — to include any county with a population of less than 250,000. That would include about 20 counties across Florida, from Nassau County north of Jacksonville to Monroe County in the Florida Keys.

Gaetz said he wants to help smaller counties because they typically have tighter budgets. But he said he “certainly would be open” to expanding the language to include all coastal counties, such as Volusia County, which spends about $7 million annually from its general fund on beach safety.

Brevard County currently spends about $1.3 million a year in general-revenue property taxes on lifeguards, Commissioner Trudie Infantini said. Using hotel taxes instead would free up money to help local residents, she said.

“Perhaps we could have more firefighters or … maybe there are a few more roads we can pave,” she said. “Or you could not tax your residents as much.”
Tourism lobbyists are now scrambling to defeat the legislation.

“We are educating lawmakers on the importance of preserving these funds for tourism marketing,” said Robert Skrob, executive director of the Florida Association of Destination Marketing Organizations. The group’s members include Visit Orlando and other agencies that are subsidized by county hotel taxes.

The industry’s ultimate fear: Any expansion of the bed tax could add momentum to efforts in other parts of the state — particularly tourism-rich Central Florida — to spend hotel taxes in ways that more directly benefit local residents.

Orange County, for instance, employs a dedicated team of sheriff’s deputies to patrol the International Drive tourism corridor. It also operates fire stations by the Orange County Convention Center and by SeaWorld Orlando. All are funded with property taxes.

The industry has crushed similar legislation in the past. In 2008, Monroe County and the city of Key West tried to persuade lawmakers to give them more freedom to spend hotel taxes building affordable “work-force housing.” They won the support of then-state Rep. Dean Cannon, a Winter Park Republican who would become House speaker, yet the legislation still failed.

Cannon is now a lobbyist in Tallahassee whose many clients include Monroe County.

“We do not support bed-tax dollars being used to fund lifeguards,” said Carol Dover, president of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, whose members include Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando, among many others. “We cannot support an erosion of its intent such as this.”

To read more: click here.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) today thanked the House of Representatives for the passage of HB 795, which permits the Department’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants to adopt rules for a risk-based inspection frequency for all licensed food service establishments.

“This bill will allow the Department to focus its regulatory and compliance efforts on establishments that pose a higher risk to the public,” said Secretary Ken Lawson. “Businesses that have a positive compliance history with the Department will have their regulatory burden reduced, and we thank the House for passing this bill.”

“HB 795 will allow government to create a more efficient process for businesses in Florida,” said bill sponsor Representative Mike La Rosa (R- St. Cloud). “I have enjoyed working with DBPR and am glad this good bill passed on the House Floor.”

The companion bill, Senate Bill 842 sponsored by Senator Kelli Stargel (R- Lakeland), has been placed on the special order calendar in the Senate.

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s mission is to license efficiently and regulate fairly. The Department licenses and regulates more than one million businesses and professionals ranging from hotels and restaurants, real estate agents and certified public accountants to veterinarians, contractors and cosmetologists. For more information, please visit www.MyFloridaLicense.com.

(April 25, 2013)

Today, Senator David Simmons (R-Altamonte Springs), along with the Florida Senate, advanced the paid leave preemption bill to 3rd reading and defended against a hostile amendment.  Passage of paid leave preemption will avert a patchwork of local ordinances, preventing confusion and compliance nightmares for businesses throughout the state.
The House bill, sponsored by Rep. Stephen Precourt (R-Orlando), passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 75 yeas and 43 nays.

FRLA would like to thank Senator Simmons for his hard work and dedication on such a vital issue for businesses in Florida.

Dear FRLA Members:

As you may know, HB 655 (Paid Leave Preemption) was transmitted to the Governor’s Office today. He has until June 25th to act upon the bill.

In recent weeks, opposition to this bill has become extremely vocal. Therefore, it is critical that our membership communicate to the Governor the importance of this bill.

To help facilitate your support of HB 655, a sample letter is included below. We encourage you to modify the letter to better suit your business.

SAMPLE LETTER

On behalf of [INSERT BUSINESS NAME], please accept this letter in support of HB 655 relating to Employment Benefits. If signed into law, this bill will preempt to the state the regulation of employee benefits. Recently, there have been attempts at the local government level to adopt regulations governing the employer/employee relationship.  Local regulations of this kind pose a potentially significant increase to the cost of doing business in Florida.  HB 655 will prevent local governments from adopting a patchwork of burdensome and costly regulations regarding employee benefits. This insures uniformity in regulations and preserves the ability of employers to adopt employee benefit practices that best suit their individual companies.

Letters to the Governor should be sent to:

Governor Rick Scott

The Capitol

400 South Monroe Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399

You can also email letters to Governor Scott at [email protected].

If you have questions, please contact FRLA’s Government Relations office at [email protected].

(Tallahassee, FL) – The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) today applauds Governor Rick Scott for signing House Bill 655, a measure to preempt paid leave ordinances to the state level. Union-backed campaigns in Orange and Miami-Dade Counties sought to have local government require private entities to mandate paid leave benefits for employees. This anti-business edict was defeated at the local level and will now, with this new law, be decided at the state level.

“Thank you to Governor Rick Scott for signing the paid leave preemption legislation and protecting members of the tourism and hospitality industry,” said Carol Dover, President and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. “Our industry has consistently fought for uniformity and fairness across the state, whether it relates to inspections, licensing fees, or training requirements. Florida businesses cannot survive with competing regulations on a county by county basis and this legislation now allows for a level playing field for job creation and expansion.”

House Bill 655 was sponsored by State Representative Stephen Precourt (R-Orlando) and State Senator David Simmons (R-Altamonte Springs) and goes into effect July 1, 2013.  The new law also requires a statewide task force be created to analyze employment benefits and the impact of state preemption of the regulation of such benefits. The findings are to be submitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representative by January 15, 2014.

Media Contact:
Elizabeth Ray
FRLA Press Secretary
850.224.2250 x255
[email protected]

(Tallahassee, FL) – Today the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association President and CEO Carol Dover released the following statement regarding Part 1 of the Gaming Impact Study and its lack of attention to the casino cannibalization issue.

“We commend the Florida Legislature’s comprehensive approach to assessing the current lay of the land and future alternatives with regard to gambling in Florida.   We are also glad that the House and Senate select committees on this subject are undertaking a thorough analysis of what we have today and various policy alternatives.

“We have read with interest the first report issued by Spectrum Gaming.  While this report has a lot of good information, we would like for it to have gone farther in its analysis of the cannibalization effect of gambling – particularly as it relates to restaurants and lodging establishments.  Just eight of the 320 pages in the report were devoted to the subject of cannibalization, and much of that analysis was related to how casinos might harm existing gambling operations.

“While Atlantic City was mentioned, the staggering Atlantic City statistics were not.  Policymakers and the public should know that 40% of restaurants and a third of retail establishments going out of business in the wake of casinos opening there.  They should know that crime skyrocketed and the population actually shrank.

“We take exception to the report’s characterization of cannibalization, or the “substitution effect” as “…essentially synonymous with market competition.”  The practice of providing free or heavily subsidized room nights and meals – a standard practice in the casino industry – is not competition.  It is a predatory business practice that would hurt Florida businesses – particularly those that are a part of our hospitality industry.

“We strongly urge that the issue of casino cannibalization along with the dismal economic numbers associated with Atlantic City be legitimately and factually addressed in Part 2 of the Gaming Impact Study due in October 2013.

“We appreciate the ongoing work of the legislature on this issue, particularly legislative leaders and those who chair and serve on the House and Senate Gaming Committees.”

# # #

About the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association
FRLA’s mission is to ‘Protect, Educate and Promote’ Florida’s hospitality industry – which represents a $71.8 billion industry, 23% of Florida’s economy, $4.3 billion in sales tax revenue, and over one million employees, making it Florida’s largest employer. It is Florida’s premier non-profit, hospitality industry trade association. FRLA safeguards the needs of the hospitality industry, improves the business climate, promotes the highest levels of quality and safety for our patrons, provides legislative advocacy, and eases navigation of government regulation. The Association represents and serves more than 10,000 independent and household name members, suppliers, and theme parks. For more information, go to www.FRLA.org.

On April 24, 2013, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor (DOL) jointly published in Interim Final Rule that revised the methodology by which the DOL calculates prevailing wages under the H-2B program.

Under this rule, the prevailing wage issued by DOL under 20 CFR 655.10 (b)(2) is the arithmetic mean for the occupation in the area of intended employment as established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics survey.  Simply put, the amount you are currently obligated to pay H-2B workers can be substantially increased by this DOL rule.  This rule is effective immediately.  The ability to have a redetermination of a DOL Supplemental Wage Notice is extremely limited and wages determined by a DOL Supplement Wage Notice must be paid by the employer.

This issue is pending before at least 3 federal courts, and the H-2B Workforce Coalition, American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) and other affected industries are working hard to seek relief from both the courts and Congress.

If you receive a Supplemental Wage Determination Notice from the U.S. Department of Labor, please let us know so we can communicate to Congress the impact these arbitrary rules are having on American business.

Media Contact:
Elizabeth Ray
FRLA Press Secretary
850.224.2250 ext. 255

The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association is strengthening its local efforts with the addition of four new regional managers. Today, FRLA is proud to announce Christine Brosh will help lead the team in Southwest Florida, Lisa Howard will oversee Central Florida, Katie Bone will be in charge of the Tampa Bay region and Dawn Wilson will represent the Palm Beach area. As regional managers they will help support members, mobilize grassroots operations and bolster ongoing communications between FRLA headquarters and local offices. These regional managers join FRLA’s four current regional directors to represent 20 chapters across the state.

“On behalf of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, I would like to welcome Christine Brosh, Lisa Howard, Katie Bone and Dawn Wilson to our team,” said FRLA President/CEO Carol Dover. “They all bring a unique skill-set and professional background that will help lead our organization and immediately impact our efforts in their respective regions to continue our commitment to protect, educate and promote Florida’s hospitality industry.”

Christine Brosh joins FRLA as the Southwest Florida Regional Manager representing Glades, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier County after working at Cooper Hotel Group where she served as a Sales Manager. Prior to her work in Southwest Florida, her career was in corporate event management and she independently owned and operated her own catering business.

Lisa Howard joins FRLA as the Central Florida Regional Manager representing Orange, Seminole, Brevard, Volusia, Flagler, Lake, and Sumter County after 17 years as a sales executive in the financial sales industry. In her previous career, Lisa maintained a multi-million dollar sales record, consistently achieving and surpassing sales goals. Lisa also took on the responsibility of arranging and coordinating a variety of trade shows and fundraising events. She’s been a resident of Central Florida for 28 years.

Katie Bone is FRLA’s new Tampa Bay Regional Manager representing Pinellas and Hillsborough County. She started with the association in 2010 as the Corporate Events Coordinator working in Tallahassee, eventually moving to Tampa to begin her new role.

Dawn Wilson is FRLA’s new Palm Beach Regional Manager representing Indian River, Okeechobee, St. Lucie, Martin, Hendry,  and Palm Beach County. She began with FRLA almost four years ago as a volunteer for the Monroe Chapter. With 19 years invested in the hospitality industry, Dawn has served in a variety of roles and has experience ranging from hostess to manager while working in hotels and restaurants.

# # #
About the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association
FRLA’s mission is to ‘Protect, Educate and Promote’ Florida’s hospitality industry – which represents a $71.8 billion industry, 23% of Florida’s economy, $4.3 billion in sales tax revenue, and over one million employees, making it Florida’s largest employer. It is Florida’s premier non-profit, hospitality industry trade association. FRLA safeguards the needs of the hospitality industry, improves the business climate, promotes the highest levels of quality and safety for our patrons, provides legislative advocacy, and eases navigation of government regulation. The Association represents and serves more than 10,000 independent and household name members, suppliers, and theme parks.