May 04, 2005
Marlins stadium bill death watch
The Florida Marlins brought in Gov. Jeb Bush's former business partner to lobby for their $30 million stadium subsidy bill yesterday, but it still seems unlikely to go to a state senate vote before the legislative session ends on Friday. To rush the bill onto the floor would require a two-thirds vote of the senate, and most estimates are that less than half the senate is in favor of the bill.
Ironically, the move to tack the Marlins bill onto subsidies for other Florida sports franchises, which helped the bill pass the Florida House last week, could be what kills it in the senate. As former Senate president Jim King told the Miami Herald: "The Marlins might have been able to make it alone; now you've got a hell of a lot more reasons to vote against it."
