Broward lawmakers, most of them Democrats, have fought loudly but been largely powerless in the Republican-controlled state Capitol.

That won’t change in the annual legislative session that begins Tuesday.

Yet Broward, mostly by virtue of its location, will be at the heart of a key, heated debate that will play out in Tallahassee over the next two months: Should the state allow big-time casinos in South Florida?

Leading the issue is Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff of Fort Lauderdale, one of the county delegation’s few Republicans. Along with Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, Bogdanoff is pushing to reshape gambling in Florida and allow up to three so-called “destination resort” casinos in Florida.

And Broward, the second-largest county in the state, will also be at the center of redistricting, the once-a-decade process of drawing new legislative districts to ensure each has an equal population.

Redistricting, also known as reapportionment, will force all Florida House and Senate members to be up for election this fall — a prospect that will make this year’s session more political than usual as every lawmaker casts votes with an eye on November.

Most of lawmakers’ time will be spent on redistricting and crafting a state budget. Florida faces a projected shortfall of $1.7 billion; Gov. Rick Scott has called for a $1 billion boost in public school spending, paid for in part by cutting state Medicaid payments to hospitals.

Education funding is of crucial importance to Broward, the nation’s sixth-largest school district, where 1,100 teaching positions were slashed last year due to a $141 million budget shortfall. The governor’s proposal, however, would amount to little more than $100 of spending per student and shortchange Broward’s hospitals, said Sen. Nan Rich, a Weston Democrat and Senate minority leader.

“What bothers me the most is that his proposed budget pits one critical need against another,” Rich said.

For Broward Democrats in the minority, session has become an exercise in tweaking, slowing or stopping larger policy their party has little chance of significantly affecting. The delegation returned from Tallahassee last year with few victories, though among them was restoring budget funding for social services for children, the elderly and the developmentally disabled.

This year, the delegation will again focus on local bills that have a higher chance of passing. Some are hardly controversial, such as aligning qualifying periods for candidates in municipal elections.

But others will be dead on arrival. One example: A measure filed by Rep. Jim Waldman, D-Coconut Creek, would allow Broward to prohibit gun owners from carrying guns into government buildings. The Legislature approved a law last year requiring cities and counties to repeal local rules limiting gun ownership.

Separate from the delegation, Broward lawmakers have put forth other eyebrow-raising bills meant to draw attention — even if their odds of passing are slim. Sen. Chris Smith, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat, wants to put a constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot that would allow for the recall of the governor, lieutenant governor, Cabinet members and legislators.

Even the casinos proposal, the most buzzed about issue in the weeks leading up to the session, faces an uphill climb, especially in the generally anti-gambling House, said Democratic Rep. Evan Jenne of Dania Beach, the Broward delegation’s chairman.