April 25, 2005
Magic seek smaller subsidy
There may be a break in the Florida legislative standoff over sports subsidies. After House finance committee chair Fred Brummer said he'd block action on state subsidies for the Florida Marlins and Orlando Magic, he now says he'll allow the Magic bill to go through - but only if it's scaled back from $100 million to the $60 million in sales-tax rebates that other state sports franchises get. (This is the same state subsidy that the Marlins already got once, but are asking for again now that they're under new management.) It's unclear whether the downsized bill will face a better chance of passage before the legislative session ends in two weeks; Gov. Jeb Bush would say only that he'll "keep an open mind" about it.
