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TALLAHASSEE (FBW)—With a new, more moderate governor and increasingly moderate Florida Senate, Florida Baptist Convention legislative consultant Bill Bunkley expected a tough legislative session for pro-family advocates in the state capital.

"The results were worse than I expected," Bunkley told Florida Baptist Witness, reflecting on the closing of the annual legislative session. And, with significant gains for the gambling industry in the regular session, Bunkley warned that the upcoming special session next month may see a return to more gambling expansion as legislators seek revenue to deliver on their promises of property tax relief.

In a reversal of fortunes, the gambling industry enjoyed success "almost entirely" for the "gambling wish list," Bunkley said.

Near the top of the list was expansion of Broward County pari-mutuels' slot machines to 2,000 per facility, increased hours of operation—including 24 hours on weekends—and introduction of ATMs and check-cashing on the premises.

The expansion comes less than six months after Broward's facilities first began operating the slots in the wake of voters' approval of a state constitutional amendment and later affirmation of a local referendum by the county's voters—and even while the Florida Supreme Court is set to hear arguments this spring regarding constitutional questions raised in a lawsuit calling into to question possible fraud in the petition-gathering process that put the constitutional amendment to permit slots on the ballot in 2004.

The Legislature also approved bills to expand hours, days and wagers in card rooms; allow betting on dominoes in card rooms; allow charitable, religious and veterans groups to sell instant bingo tickets (a bill vetoed by Gov. Bush last year); and raise the betting limits at pari-mutuel poker rooms, while eliminating limits on Texas Hold 'em games as long as the buy-in is less than $100 and allow poker tournaments.

All the gambling legislation now awaits action by Gov. Charlie Crist, who has been somewhat non-committal on his plans.

The one, notable failure of the gambling industry was a measure to allow video lottery terminals (VLTs) at all the state's pari-mutuel facilities. VLTs, Class II machines called the "crack cocaine" of gambling by its critics, are currently used in American Indian casinos. While the Florida Senate approved a measure allowing VLTs at all pari-mutuels, no action had been expected in the more anti-gambling House. However, in a hastily-called meeting of the Environmental &Natural Resources Council April 30, members approved VLTs at pari-mutuels in counties with a population of at least 800,000 or within 40 miles of a tribal casino. Sponsor of the VLTs measure, Rep. Denise Grimsley, R-Lake Placid, told the panel the measure is projected to raise $1 billion annually in tax revenues for the state.

Although the House VLTs bill never made it to the floor, Bunkley told the Witness, "I suspect that these gambling interests will move if they can on the VLTs in the special session." The ten-day special session will convene June 12.

In other legislative action followed by pro-family advocates in Tallahassee, no bills of interest to the homosexual lobby advanced, and efforts to provide state funding for embryonic stem cell research also failed.

Pro-family advocates were stunned, however, at the last minute defeat of legislation to tighten requirements for girls to have abortions without notifying their parents. The House version of the legislation included wider provisions requiring 24-hour notice and viewing of ultrasound images before women can have abortions, which the Senate stripped from its version of the legislation.

According to news reports and Bunkley, the Senate sponsor, Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Brandon, had asked the House sponsor, Rep. Trey Traviesa, R-Tampa, to accept the more limited Senate version and he had agreed. However, Traveisa later asked the House to reject the measure, surprising pro-family advocates.

"It's important that we send a message today that if the issue is not taken seriously and the only thing that's going to come out of the Senate is minimalist crumbs as it relates to life, we're not going to take it," Traveisa explained, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Bunkley told the Witness he was "shocked and extremely disappointed we we won't have a set of uniform guidelines for our judges and the important aspect of undue influence be a part of the judicial review process."

Although Bunkley commends Taveisa as a "good social conservative, I absolutely have to disagree with his logic on this bill. ... Although I applaud Rep. Trevesia and agree with him that we should seek a 24 hour waiting period, provide for a woman to see an ultrasound prior the termination of her pregnancy and holding abortion clinics to the same degree of liability as another medical facility, those elements should have been the basis of a separate bill and run through the process on their own merits."

Bunkley said an "incrementalist" approach has resulted in the "progress we have accomplished since the Supreme Court made Roe v. Wade the law of the land."

Bunkley commended Sen. Storms, a longtime member of First Baptist Church in Brandon, for her leadership of the bill through the Senate "after an hour of very difficult debate."

Pro-family advocates are all "bummed-out" at the failure to pass the parental notice measure.

The events that led to the demise of the parental notice bill "serves to sum up the overall frustration of myself and my fellow social conservative advocates have experienced this year," Bunkley said. "We all know God is sovereign and that He loves us and He never departs from us, but there are times in the battle where one can feel very isolated and alone. But we know from Scripture we just press on."