IN BRIEF : Fla. Jai Alai Deregulation Rejected

A proposal to deregulate jai alai and greyhound racing in Florida was rejected today by a House committee.

Rep. Brian Rush (D-Tampa) proposed the measure as an amendment to a bill that would permit a Brevard County jai alai fronton hit by a players strike to switch to dog racing. The Finance and Taxation Committee voted down the amendment 13 to 8. Rush said regulatory legislation such as the Brevard bill, which the committee later approved 17 to 5, would be unnecessary if the state no longer controlled the locations of tracks and frontons and their dates.

The Legislature last year deregulated thoroughbred horse racing dates.