Florida Greyhound Group Wants Ballot Issue Removed

A proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot in Florida seeks to decouple greyhound racing from other gambling. But the Florida Greyhound Association filed a complaint to remove the issue from the ballot, claiming the ballot title and summary fail to explain the amendment would eliminate jobs and destroy a $200 million industry.

The Florida Constitution Revision Commission will place on the November ballot a proposed constitutional amendment that would decouple greyhound racing from other gambling activities by 2020. But the Florida Greyhound Association recently filed a complaint in Leon County Circuit Court asking that the issue be removed from the ballot. The group claims the amendment contains numerous flaws, including that the ballot title and summary don’t fully inform voters about the amendment’s impact if it is approved.

Plaintiffs stated the proposal does not advise voters that dog racetracks still would be allowed to broadcast live greyhound races from other states. Also, the complaint says the measure only would ban “commercial” dog racing, meaning that kennel clubs still would be allowed to continue dog competitions.

In addition, the lawsuit alleges the proposal’s text, which voters won’t see on the ballot, could have implications far beyond the greyhound-racing industry. For example, the proposed amendment states, “The humane treatment of animals is a fundamental value of the people of the state of Florida.” Plaintiffs’ attorneys Jeff Kottkamp, a former lieutenant governor, and Paul Hawkes, a former appellate judge, noted that language “might ultimately apply to animals other than dogs. Would this statement, once adopted by voters who were not informed that it was contained in the amendment, be utilized in the future to limit horseracing? To limit the use of hunting dogs? A voter who favors ending dog racing might very well decline to pass an amendment with such a broadly stated provision for fear that once adopted as status quo in connection to dog racing, such a statement might be expanded to limit or prohibit other activities or livelihoods that involve other animals.”

The Florida Supreme Court reviews the wording of constitutional amendments, but, Kottkamp and Hawkes said, its review is limited, so only proposals that are “clearly and conclusively defective” don’t stand up to scrutiny.

Constitution Revision Commission Style and Drafting Committee Chairman Brecht Heuchan said three legal experts helped draft the amendments. “They approved every single word that was in every single ballot summary and ballot title. That doesn’t mean that some other sets of people, including some other courts, may disagree,” Heuchan said. He added the lawsuit was “bound to happen. When you don’t like the policy, you go to court,” he said.

Humane Society of the United States Florida Director Kate MacFall said, “This lawsuit is dead on arrival. It is a desperate attempt to prevent voters from having a voice on whether greyhound confinement and deaths should continue. It was filed because greyhound breeders know that when Amendment 13 appears on the ballot, Floridians will vote yes for the dogs.”

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has called greyhound racing and the treatment of the dogs a “black eye on our state.” She said, “We all know these dogs end up with broken legs, serious injuries and they’re shipped from track to track until they’re dead or can no longer race at all.”

However, greyhound association lobbyist Jack Cory said the amendment “has nothing to do with animal-rights issues.” He noted, “We are the animal-rights people. The proponents are political activists using animals for fundraising purposes,” referring to the Humane Society and Massachusetts-based advocacy group GREY2K . “All they do is run sad puppy commercials on TV to gain donations,” Cory said.

Ending greyhound racing could eliminate thousands of jobs and destroy a $200 million-a-year industry, Cory stated. He said more than $80 million was bet last year on live greyhound races in Florida, despite reports that wagering on greyhound racing declining. “Just because we’ve got a couple of very aggressive political action groups from out of state is no reason for us to change our business plan in the state of Florida,” Cory commented.