"The Best and the Brightest" My Foot!

As little men on Beacon Hill have their egos stroked by Gambling Lobbyists, they begin to believe the lies they have been told.

File this among "Stupid Statements by Beacon Hill."

Will someone tell Rep. Wagner if he's the 'best and the brightest' we're in serious trouble?

Chicopee state Rep. Joseph Wagner opposes attempt to block lawmakers from working in casino industry
State House News Service The Republican

By KYLE CHENEY

BOSTON - The House member leading negotiations on expanded gambling legislation indicated Tuesday that he’s inclined to oppose an attempt by senators to block lawmakers from working in the casino industry for a year after they leave office.

“It’s my sense that this matter is so important that we should not preclude the best and the brightest from being eligible even if those people would be in government presently,” said Rep. Joseph Wagner, D-Chicopee, told reporters at the State House.

“I don’t think we should say we want to bring an industry online that doesn’t exist, make it the best it can be – particularly compared with other states who are doing the same thing – and then tie one or both hands behind our backs by limiting ourselves. That’s my personal view going in. How it plays out remains to be seen.”

Wagner’s comments came minutes after six conference committee members negotiating a consensus gambling bill voted unanimously to close their meetings to the public, in keeping with the Legislature's recent tradition to hold private discussions on the final contours of major legislation. Members of conference committees often settle some of the most contentious public policy issues facing the state.

The motion to close the meeting was made by House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Brian Dempsey, D-Haverhill, and seconded by Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, D-Leominster. The committee, which met 40 minutes late because its co-chair, Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, was debating a redistricting bill, recessed immediately to return to House and Senate sessions. They plan to resume talks after the sessions.

Members of the conference committee include Rosenberg, Wagner, Dempsey, Flanagan, Rep. Paul Frost, R-Auburn, and Sen. Richard Ross, R-Wrentham.

Committee members say they're “hopeful” about completing negotiations prior to a seven-week recess that begins Nov. 16, and they have repeatedly contended that differences between the House and Senate versions of expanded gambling legislation aren't too wide to overcome relatively quickly.

“I think the proof going to that point is that the bill initially debated by the House and the Senate, each of those bills were remarkably similar,” Wagner said. “It’s my sense that we can get to it.”

Asked whether it would take one or two meetings to complete negotiations, Wagner added, “I’m an optimist. I’d like to think that. If I said one or two, it might be nine or 10. If I said nine or 10, it might be one or two.”

Both bills would sanction three casinos spread by region as well as a slot parlor cup for competitive bids. The bills also create a five-member Gaming Commission to oversee the new industry. Casinos would be taxed at 25 percent of daily revenue, while the slots-only facility would turn over 49 percent of its daily revenue.

If the conference committee arrives at an agreement, it would mark the second time in two years that lawmakers produced a consensus gambling bill. Last year, a similar bill that sanctioned three casinos and two slot parlors designated for state racetracks landed on Gov. Deval Patrick’s desk. But the bill died when Patrick returned it with an amendment after lawmakers had completed formal business for the year.