There has been a lot written about decoupling in the last week, so we wanted to provide everyone an update.
Since our last update, the House passed a version of the proposed decoupling bill on April 25, but no companion bill has been voted on by the Senate. That remained the case heading toward the end of the session. Decoupling could only pass if both the House and Senate approved a bill and the Governor signed it into law, so several steps remained.
The legislative session was scheduled to end on May 2. The House and Senate, however, did not complete their work by then, and as a result they have agreed to extend the session to June 6. The extension only includes the budget, budget conforming bills, and the tax package. It does not include decoupling and as a result, we believe this issue is largely closed for this session.
There are some equine related provisions in the tax package, so we are continuing to monitor things on your behalf. While we do not expect decoupling to be part of any tax discussion, we do not want to let our guard down.
We are glad we could represent you and prevent decoupling from passing this session. Much of the success in doing that can be attributed to educating legislators about our great industry and reinforcing all of the positives. We need to stay with that message rather than making any negative comments as we continue to educate legislators and the public about all the benefits of horse racing.
Many thanks go out to all of our horsemen who pitched in and traveled to Tallahassee, spread the word, or stood with the industry. A special thanks goes out to the FHBPA Legislative Committee led by Chester Bishop along with Teresa Palmer, Peter Lawson, and Saffie Joseph, who worked tirelessly during the session alongside our lobbying and communications teams.
Defeating the decoupling legislation this year is just one step in securing the future of racing in South Florida. We will be in touch soon regarding plans for addressing our continuing long-term needs and goals.
Sincerely,
Your FHBPA Board of Directors