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House passes
expanded gaming legislation; Authorizes three casinos and a slots
facility
(BOSTON) – State Representative Carlo Basile joined his colleagues
in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in passing expanded
gaming legislation designed to create jobs and stimulate economic
growth throughout the Commonwealth.
The bill will create an estimated 15,000 jobs in the Commonwealth
while delivering an estimated- millions of dollars in immediate
local aid to cities and towns.
“With people in our Commonwealth hurting, this expanded gaming
legislation will bring immediate jobs, local aid and economic
growth.” House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (D-Winthrop) said. “I am
extraordinarily proud of the House’s unwavering commitment to jobs
and growth. While not a panacea, this bill will stimulate our
economy and provide local aid for the cities and towns across
Massachusetts.”
“Today’s bill is the product of a long and deliberative process that
included an extensive public hearing and vigorous debate among
members of the House,” said Representative Joseph Wagner
(D-Chicopee), House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic
Development & Emerging Technologies. “I am proud of the result, a
bill that will create thousands of good jobs in the Commonwealth and
generate millions of dollars in new revenue to support vital public
services.”
“This bill will create jobs for people across the Commonwealth at a
time when we need them most,” said Representative Brian Dempsey
(D-Haverhill), Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means.
“The revenue generated by this piece of legislation will provide the
resources needed to support economic growth initiatives and bring
much needed aid to our cities and towns. I am pleased that my
colleagues in the House choose to advance this bill today and
appreciate the tremendous amount of work from Speaker DeLeo and
Chairman Wagner that went into moving this legislation forward.”
“This bill has been a long time in the making. I am very proud and
excited about its passage as I believe it will spur much needed job
growth and economic activity throughout the state,” said
Representative Carlo Basile, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on
Financial Services.
The bill would create an independent gaming commission to license
and regulate gaming entities in the Commonwealth. After an extensive
licensing process, the commission could authorize one casino in each
of three designated regions of the Commonwealth.
The bill divides the state into three casino regions. Region A would
include the counties of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, and
Worcester. Region B would include the counties of Berkshire,
Franklin, Hamden and Hampshire with Region C the counties of
Bristol, Dukes, Plymouth, Barnstable and Nantucket.
The bill also makes provision for the Governor to compact with a
Native American Tribe for a gaming license in Region C to provide
maximize economic development benefits by August 1, 2012.
Resort casinos would be required to pay $85 million in licensing
fees while also making a minimal capital investment of $500 million.
Under the legislation, the independent gaming commission is also
authorized to license slot machines at one location to a qualified
applicant in a competitively-bid process.
The licensing fee for housing slot machines would be $25 million.
Slot applicants will be obligated to make a minimal capital
investment of at least $125 million.
The resort casino tax rate would be 25 percent while the tax rate
for racetracks with slots would be 40% going directly to local aid
and an additional 9 percent assessment to be used for horse
development funding.
Casino revenue would go toward local aid, the state’s stabilization
fund, economic development, education, debt reduction, tourism,
transportation infrastructure, community mitigation, public health
and local capital projects.
The bill now goes to the Senate.
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