Lawmaker questions need for state police at casinos
Published: March 3, 2013
HARRISBURG - With the ranks of state troopers stretched thin, the practice of having troopers stationed at the slots casinos surfaced again last week at a Senate Appropriations Committee budget hearing.
An additional 11 troopers will be assigned to this duty when Nemacolin Woodlands in Fayette County opens a table games casino later this year, said State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan.
About 140 troopers are spread across the operating casinos. They are involved in handling hundreds of incidents each year at the casinos, Noonan added.
The state police charge the casinos for their expenses.
Those troopers could be put on highway patrol if they didn't have to guard the casinos, said Sen. Pat Vance, R-Camp Hill.
"There is something wrong with having a state agency guarding a private business," she said. "I don't like the message we are sending."
Sen. Robert Tomlinson, R-Bensalem, countered that the casinos are unlike other private businesses due to the heavy state regulation. State government has a stake in the casinos because of the huge amount of slots tax revenue going to property tax relief, he added.
"There is a huge state investment in that private enterprise," Tomlinson said.
Budget hearings
The hearings by the House and Senate Appropriations Committee on Gov. Tom Corbett's fiscal 2013-14 state budget proposal will wrap up next week.
For three weeks, cabinet secretaries, elected state officeholders and commission heads and presidents of institutions like Pennsylvania State University that receive state aid appear before lawmakers to justify their spending requests and answer questions.
These hearings are a prime example of the checks and balances inherent in state government.
Lawmakers will use the information gleaned from the testimony to fashion their own revisions to the governor's proposal in coming weeks.
Lawmakers get a chance to grill executive branch officials about how they run their agencies and frequently make requests of them for additional information.
They also make their preferences known for state funding priorities.
At the budget hearing for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, senators of both parties stressed the importance of keeping funding for the Keystone Fund, which underwrites local recreation and park projects, and finding a stable funding source for the state heritage areas.
Five senators from Northeastern Pennsylvania are on appropriations. They are Sens. David Argall, R-Tamaqua; Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township; John Blake, D-Archbald; John Gordner, R-Berwick, and John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township.
Three regional House members are on appropriations. They are Reps. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake; Mike Carroll, D-Hughestown and Mike Peifer, R-Honesdale.
http://citizensvoice.com/news/lawmaker-questions-need-for-state-police-at-casinos-1.1452801
An additional 11 troopers will be assigned to this duty when Nemacolin Woodlands in Fayette County opens a table games casino later this year, said State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan.
About 140 troopers are spread across the operating casinos. They are involved in handling hundreds of incidents each year at the casinos, Noonan added.
The state police charge the casinos for their expenses.
Those troopers could be put on highway patrol if they didn't have to guard the casinos, said Sen. Pat Vance, R-Camp Hill.
"There is something wrong with having a state agency guarding a private business," she said. "I don't like the message we are sending."
Sen. Robert Tomlinson, R-Bensalem, countered that the casinos are unlike other private businesses due to the heavy state regulation. State government has a stake in the casinos because of the huge amount of slots tax revenue going to property tax relief, he added.
"There is a huge state investment in that private enterprise," Tomlinson said.
Budget hearings
The hearings by the House and Senate Appropriations Committee on Gov. Tom Corbett's fiscal 2013-14 state budget proposal will wrap up next week.
For three weeks, cabinet secretaries, elected state officeholders and commission heads and presidents of institutions like Pennsylvania State University that receive state aid appear before lawmakers to justify their spending requests and answer questions.
These hearings are a prime example of the checks and balances inherent in state government.
Lawmakers will use the information gleaned from the testimony to fashion their own revisions to the governor's proposal in coming weeks.
Lawmakers get a chance to grill executive branch officials about how they run their agencies and frequently make requests of them for additional information.
They also make their preferences known for state funding priorities.
At the budget hearing for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, senators of both parties stressed the importance of keeping funding for the Keystone Fund, which underwrites local recreation and park projects, and finding a stable funding source for the state heritage areas.
Five senators from Northeastern Pennsylvania are on appropriations. They are Sens. David Argall, R-Tamaqua; Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township; John Blake, D-Archbald; John Gordner, R-Berwick, and John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township.
Three regional House members are on appropriations. They are Reps. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake; Mike Carroll, D-Hughestown and Mike Peifer, R-Honesdale.
http://citizensvoice.com/news/lawmaker-questions-need-for-state-police-at-casinos-1.1452801
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