Supreme Court of Florida
Gretna Racing, LLC, Petitioner v. Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
May 18, 201742 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 593
Summary
The court held that Gadsden County's general home-rule powers did not authorize a binding referendum approving slot-machine gaming at a pari-mutuel facility. Because the referendum lacked the statutory or constitutional authorization required by chapter 551, Gretna Racing was not an eligible facility and the Division properly denied its license. Justice Lewis concurred in the result but would have stated more directly that the general statutory ban on slot machines precluded reliance on home-rule powers to authorize the referendum.