## Facts

- The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) permits Class III tribal gaming only if conducted under a tribal-state compact in a state that permits such gaming.
- For years, the Seminole Tribe sought a Class III gaming compact with Florida.
- In November 2007, Governor Charles J. Crist, Jr. executed a compact with the Seminole Tribe allowing expanded Class III casino-style gaming on tribal lands, including house-banked card games such as blackjack and baccarat and certain slot-type machines.
- The compact exchanged expanded gaming rights for substantial revenue payments to the State.
- The Florida Legislature neither authorized the Governor to enter this compact nor ratified it after execution.
- The Florida House of Representatives and the House Speaker filed an original petition in the Florida Supreme Court for a writ of quo warranto, challenging the Governor’s authority to bind the State to a compact that permitted gambling otherwise illegal under Florida law.

## Issues

1. Whether the Governor may, without legislative authorization or ratification, bind the State to an IGRA gaming compact that authorizes forms of gambling prohibited by Florida statutes.
2. Whether executing such a compact violates Florida’s separation of powers by altering state public policy and criminal law, matters committed to the Legislature.

## Decision

- The Florida Supreme Court exercised original jurisdiction and granted the writ of quo warranto.
- The court held the Governor lacked constitutional authority to bind the State to portions of the compact authorizing games illegal under Florida law.
- The court concluded that authorizing otherwise prohibited gambling through a unilateral executive compact impermissibly intruded on the Legislature’s policy-making and lawmaking powers.
- The ruling was framed as limited to compact provisions that clearly departed from existing Florida statutory policy by permitting gambling criminalized elsewhere in the State.

## Legal Principles

- Under the Florida Constitution’s separation of powers, the Legislature holds primary authority to set statewide public policy and to define crimes and punishments, including gambling prohibitions.
- The Governor’s power to negotiate and execute agreements with other sovereigns does not include authority to contravene Florida statutes or effectively change criminal law without legislative participation.
- A tribal-state gaming compact that expands gambling beyond what Florida law permits is a fundamental policy decision requiring legislative authorization or ratification.
- Quo warranto is an appropriate vehicle to test whether an executive officer has exceeded constitutional or legal authority.

## Conclusion

Florida’s Governor may not unilaterally commit the State to an IGRA gaming compact that authorizes gambling prohibited by Florida law; such action violates separation of powers because altering gambling policy and criminal law is reserved to the Legislature.


Fla. House of Representatives v. Crist, 999 So. 2d 601 (Fla. 2008)