Massachusetts: Rushing Off A Cliff

Pennsylvania crammed through legislation at midnight on the 4th of July
and failed to include many things, as the recent Grand Jury report indicates.
They failed to address the matter of children left in vehicles, a known
problem.

(Found here: Restructure gambling law, board)

The "Compromise Bill," crafted behind closed doors, passed by Beacon Hill
with no debate, contained 17 pages of ERRATA - mistakes, some of which
altered the meaning or contradicted intent.

Attorney General Martha Coakley recently -

...warned lawmakers that the cost of making it happen may be larger than anticipated. New regulations must be drawn up and new agencies created to enforce the regulation, she said.

In other words, Beacon Hill doesn't even know the COSTS.

The information is available for all to see.

If anyone has former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger recent report, can we post
and circulate it?




From: State House News Service
Subject: DeLEO EYEING JULY PASSAGE OF EXPANDED GAMBLING LEGISLATION



DeLEO EYEING JULY PASSAGE OF EXPANDED GAMBLING LEGISLATION

By Kyle Cheney
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JUNE 6, 2011…..House Speaker Robert DeLeo told reporters Monday that he hopes a bill to bring expanded gambling to Massachusetts will pass in July.

"That is my desire," he said after emerging from a meeting in the governor's office with Gov. Deval Patrick and Senate President Therese Murray. "I think that's all of our desires, but the proof will be once we get to talk about the details whether that's going to happen or not."

Since talks to bring expanded gambling to Massachusetts collapsed last July, DeLeo, Murray and Patrick have indicated they've had few, if any, substantive conversations about reigniting the issue. Patrick has said it's on the backburner of his agenda, and he has expressed hope that any new push would come after he had agreed on a framework with legislative leaders to avoid a protracted, all-consuming debate.

In recent weeks, as a legislative committee mulls gambling bills, the leaders have indicated that they were eyeing the period following the passage of a fiscal 2012 state budget to reconsider gambling.

Lawmakers are currently negotiating a compromise on a fiscal 2012 budget plan, with a conference committee set to begin talks Wednesday and lawmakers aiming to get a bill to Patrick later this month.

Gambling bills passed both branches handily last session. Proponents touted an expected influx of jobs and new government revenues from gambling while critics predicted industry expansion would pull economic activity from other sectors and lead to a flood of social problems tied to problem gambling.

Earlier Monday, former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, a critic of expanded gambling, issued a 19-page report suggesting that "ardent supporters of this casino 'gold rush' are content to rush off the cliff without first considering and developing critically important regulatory oversight mechanisms."

In recommendations accompanying the report, Harshbarger urged policymakers to define "the policy objectives of expanded gambling," to solicit a "truly independent study of the impacts and costs of expanding gambling," and to establish "an independent regulatory body to oversee the administration of the gambling industry."

Last session, lawmakers forged a compromise proposal to bring three resort-style casinos and two racetrack gambling facilities to Massachusetts, but the deal fell apart when Gov. Deval Patrick sent it back with an amendment, striking the proposed slot parlors after the Legislature's formal session expired.

The tension that mounted over the bill climaxed on July 31 last year, when DeLeo held a press conference backed by dozens of House members pressing Patrick to sign the compromise bill. But Patrick, who had offered to support one competitively bid racino, refused to sign the bill, saying the proposal amounted to a no-bid contract for wealthy track owners.