By Thor Jourgensen / The Daily Item
SALEM — Before they bring gambling to a Massachusetts city or town, casino owners must be ready to pay for roadway improvements and traffic reduction work in that community, Massachusetts State Senate President Therese Murray warned Thursday.
Addressing about 80 North Shore Alliance for Economic Development members at Salem State University, Murray said gambling legislation approved last year will create 10,000 to 15,000 "good-paying, long-term jobs" for Massachusetts and increase tourism.
[Senate President "Cha Ching" Murray is quoting outdated job creation figures and knows they are incorrect. She is also fully aware that the problem with Slot Barns is that they offer low wage jobs, many of which are part-time. Experience shows that workers tend to be transient. Tourism will be adversely effected, which studies have proven. It should be noted that Murray prided herself with never reading anything 'anti' Gambling.]
"But with additional visitors will come additional traffic. Any gaming facilities must pay for transportation infrastructure improvements associated with a casino. They won't be allowed to open unless they do," Murray said.
The Plymouth Democrat also talked about burdensome health-insurance costs, job creation and her plan to significantly reform the state budget-making process.
She said the average health insurance premium hike for small businesses and individuals will be 4.8 percent this year, but Christine Sullivan, head of Salem State's Enterprise Center, told Murray small business owners are telling her they will pay 12 percent to 20 percent more for health coverage this year.
"It's killing employment by eroding revenue you can apply to hiring someone," Sullivan said.
Murray called those reported hikes "unacceptable" and said the Legislature will soon focus on health insurance payment reform in an effort to reduce consumer costs.
In response to a question following her speech, she said a court case assuring health insurance coverage for legal immigrants will cost the state $54 million to more than $100 million this year, depending on how the expense is budgeted.
"It's going to be significant," she said.
She noted that insurance for legal immigrants "will add to the $200 million Medicaid deficit."
Murray said she wants to initiate a major budget overall establishing "zero-based budgeting" by 2017.
Under her proposal, state department chiefs would use performance measurements and other guidelines to calculate spending needs instead of submitting their previous year budget and factoring in increases.
"It's going to make government more transparent," she said.
Murray drew applause from her Alliance audience when she announced a newly-released 6.8 percent unemployment rate for Massachusetts. She told Alliance members that community colleges and vocational training schools must combine forces to help fill highly-skilled jobs.
She said specialized welding and machinist positions are among 144,000 jobs in Massachusetts that employers have difficulty filling.
"They are well-paid jobs, but not many people are trained to do them," Murray said.
Murray predicted a nearly $1 billion investment in life sciences and research agreements with Ireland and Finland will bring additional jobs to Massachusetts.
She criticized Congress for not working together, and called on Republicans and Democrats to come together to boost employment.
"Congress can't get out of its own way. You can't get elected and then say, 'I won't compromise,'" she said.
Murray credited fellow legislators during her speech with passing proposals to crack down on financial mismanagement by quasi-public educational organizations and for protecting domestic violence victims' jobs while they seek medical and legal help.
She also praised state Sen. Frederick Berry, the Senate majority leader who is planning to retire from the Legislature this year. Murray said a cold kept Berry away from Thursday's Alliance meeting, but she credited him with helping Salem State make the transition from a state college to a university.
Berry and the late Walter Boverini before him ensured a North Shore presence in the state Senate's leadership, but Murray said substantive talk about a new leader will not take place for almost a year.
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