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Justices eye arguments on casino initiative
The Florida Supreme Court could hear arguments March 8 about a proposed constitutional amendment that would open the door to casinos in North Florida.
Justices late Tuesday issued an order setting a timeline for consideration of the proposal, which is backed by the Florida Voters in Charge political committee.
The committee needs to clear two major hurdles to put the initiative on the November ballot: It needs to submit 891,589 valid petition signatures by Feb. 1, and it needs the Supreme Court to sign off the proposed ballot wording.
Attorney General Ashley Moody on Friday sent the issue to the Supreme Court, after the committee cleared a petition-signature threshold to trigger consideration of the wording. If the initiative reaches the ballot, voters would decide whether to allow existing pari-mutuel operators in North Florida to add casino games to their operations.
The measure would open the door to casinos along the Interstate 10 corridor in North Florida and is geared toward a facility in the Jacksonville area.
The Supreme Court order said opponents of the measure would have to file briefs by Jan. 28, with supporters filing answer briefs by Feb. 7.
Opponents could file reply briefs by Feb. 14.
The order said the court will “subsequently determine whether to conduct oral argument.” Such a hearing would be held March 8. As of Wednesday morning, the state Division of Elections had received 475,840 petition signatures for the initiative.
