Don't allow Plainville Town Administrator Joseph Fernandes to balance your checkbook!
How any literate person can make such outrageous statements based on the Gam[bl]ing Legislation Revenue SECTION is breathtaking!
Folks, Don't base your decision on WRONG INFORMATION!
Plainville town manager joins others in opposing anti-gambling question
Question 3 supporters say casinos will hurt state lottery
Posted:Tuesday, October 14, 2014
BY JIM HAND SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
The Sun Chronicle
PLAINVILLE — Town Administrator Joseph Fernandes, along with a group of casino supporters, is fighting back against claims that expanded gambling in Massachusetts would badly hurt the state lottery.
Opponents of gambling have put a question on the Nov. 4 ballot asking voters to repeal the state’s casino law. They said last week that casinos would cause state lottery recipients to drop by nearly 22 percent, taking away $130 million in aid for cities and towns.
The lottery is a major source of state aid to cities and towns.
Fernandes said the study the opponents cite is way off from all the studies he has seen. He said he has read lottery revenue would temporarily dip by 8 percent, but then rebound.
Also, he said, any loss to the lottery would be more than offset by aid to cities and towns that come from gambling revenue.
Fernandes was joined by Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria, and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno in denouncing the study by the Repeal the Casino Deal campaign, the group trying to revoke the law.
Casino licenses have been awarded for both Everett and Springfield. A slot-machine parlor called Plainridge Park Casino is already under construction at a harness horse-racing track on Route 1 in Plainville.
They were speaking for a pro-casino group called Protect Massachusetts Jobs.
The anti-casino group said last week that local communities will be badly hurt by casinos financially, as well as socially. It predicted Attleboro would lose $1.1 million a year, Mansfield $434,000, North Attleboro $560,000, and Plainville $147,000.
Repeal the Casino Deal said it was basing its estimates on a study done for the Legislature in 2008.
Fernandes said that under the casino law, slot machines at Plainridge will be taxed by the state at a 40 percent rate and all of that revenue will go into local aid.
NOT TRUE!
Twenty percent of casino revenue would also go to cities and towns and a community stabilization fund will be established to offset losses to the lottery, he said.
For instance, slot machines at Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville would be taxed at 40 percent and all that money would be dedicated to local aid, he said.
NOT TRUE!
Furthermore, 20 percent of revenue from casinos and a community stabilization fund would offset lottery loses, he said.
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/plainville-town-manager-joins-others-in-opposing-anti-gambling-question/article_e8412ec4-53db-11e4-bacc-7331aec326ff.html#user-comment-area
FROM THE GAMI[BL]ING LEGISLATION:
Section 59. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a Gaming Revenue Fund which shall receive revenues collected from the tax on gross gaming revenue received from gaming licensees. The commission shall be the trustee of the fund and shall transfer monies in the fund as follows:
(1) 100 per cent of the revenue received from a category 2 licensee shall be transferred to the Gaming Local Aid Fund established in section 63; and
(2) 100 per cent of the revenue received from a category 1 licensee shall be transferred as follows:
(a) 2 per cent of revenues to the Massachusetts cultural council of which one-quarter of the revenues received shall be dedicated to the organization support program of the Massachusetts cultural council and three-quarters of revenues shall be dedicated to support not-for-profit and municipally-owned performing arts centers impacted as a result of the operation of gaming facilities; provided, however, that funds dedicated to such performing arts centers shall be to subsidize fees paid to touring shows or artists; and provided further, that funding shall be appropriated through a competitive grant process to be developed and administered by the Massachusetts cultural council;Section 60. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a Race Horse Development Fund to be administered by the commission. The fund shall consist of monies deposited under subsection (c) of section 55. The commission shall make distributions from the Race Horse Development Fund to each licensee under chapter 128A.
(b) 1 per cent to the Massachusetts Tourism Fund to fund tourist promotion agencies under clause (c) of section 35J of chapter 10;
(c) 6.5 per cent to the Community Mitigation Fund established in section 61;
(d) 4.5 per cent to the Local Capital Projects Fund, established in section 2EEEE of chapter 29;
(e) 20 per cent to the Gaming Local Aid Fund, established in section 63;
(f) 10 per cent to the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund established in section 2H of chapter 29; provided, however, that in any fiscal year in which the amount appropriated in line-item 7061-0008 of the general appropriation act, paid from the General Fund, or the amount of unrestricted general government aid paid from the General Fund, including lottery aid distribution to cities and towns as paid from the General Fund under clause (c) of the second paragraph of section 35 of said chapter 10 and the amount of additional funds distributed to cities and towns as additional assistance paid from the General Fund, is less than that of the previous fiscal year, up to 1/2 of the funds otherwise directed to the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund under this section, up to an amount equal to the deficiency between said appropriations for the current and previous fiscal years, shall be transferred to the Gaming Local Aid Fund in addition to the 25 per cent under clause (e);
(g) 14 per cent to the Education Fund established in section 64;
(h) 9.5 per cent to the Gaming Economic Development Fund established in section 2DDDD of said chapter 29;
(i) 10 per cent shall be used for debt reduction through a program of debt defeasance and accelerated debt payments; provided, however, that this program shall be developed jointly by the state treasurer and the secretary of administration and finance and shall be implemented in compliance with state finance law; provided further, that this program shall prioritize the reduction of risk in the commonwealth's debt portfolio, but may also include payments to decrease the unfunded pension liability of the Pension Reserves Investment Trust Fund; and provided further, that the secretary of administration and finance and the state treasurer shall provide a written description of the program to the finance advisory board established in section 97 of chapter 6 for the board's review and comment before the program is implemented and shall file a copy of that description with the house and senate committees on ways and means and the house and senate committees on bonding, capital expenditures and state assets when it is submitted to the finance advisory board;
(j) 15 per cent to the Transportation Infrastructure and Development Fund established in section 62;
(k) 5 per cent to the Public Health Trust Fund established in section 58; and
(l) 2.5 per cent to the Race Horse Development Fund established in section 60.
(b) There shall be a horse racing committee consisting of 5 members, 1 of whom shall be the governor or the governor’s designee who shall serve as chair, 1 of whom shall be the treasurer and receiver general or the treasurer’s designee, 1 of whom shall be the chair of the commission or the chair’s designee, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the New England Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association and the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeding Program and 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Harness Horseman’s Association of New England and the Massachusetts Standardbred Breeding Program. The horse racing committee shall make recommendations on how the funds received in subsection (a) shall be distributed between thoroughbred and standardbred racing facilities to support the thoroughbred and standardbred horse racing industries under this section. In making its recommendations, the committee shall consider certain criteria including, but not limited to: (i) the average purses awarded at thoroughbred and standardbred racing facilities; (ii) the total employment numbers, both direct and indirect, attributable to each horse racing industry; (iii) the relative needs of each horse racing industry for increased purses; (iv) the amount of the live racing handle generated by each horse racing industry; and (v) the number of breeding and training farms of each industry that are located in the commonwealth. The committee shall submit distribution recommendations to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives not later than 30 days before submitting the recommendations to the commission for final approval. The commission shall only change the distribution percentage upon a recommendation by the committee.
(c) Funds received from the Race Horse Development Fund shall be distributed between thoroughbred and standardbred accounts, as approved by the commission, as follows:
(i) 80 per cent of the funds approved by the commission shall be deposited weekly into a separate, interest-bearing purse account to be established by and for the benefit of the horsemen; provided, however, that the earned interest on the account shall be credited to the purse account; and provided further, that licensees shall combine these funds with revenues from existing purse agreements to fund purses for live races consistent with those agreements with the advice and consent of the horsemen;
(ii) 16 per cent of the funds approved by the commission shall be deposited as follows: (A) for a thoroughbred track, into the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeding Program authorized by the commission; or (B) for a standardbred track, into the Massachusetts Standardbred Breeding Program authorized by the commission;
(iii) 4 per cent shall be used to fund health and pension benefits for the members of the horsemen’s organizations representing the owners and trainers at a horse racing facility for the benefit of the organization’s members, their families, employees and others under the rule and eligibility requirements of the organization, as approved by the commission; provided, however, that this amount shall be deposited within 5 business days of the end of each month into a separate account to be established by each respective horsemen’s organization at a banking institution of its choice; and provided further, that of this amount, the commission shall determine how much shall be paid annually by the horsemen’s organization to the thoroughbred jockeys or standardbred drivers organization at the horse racing facility for health insurance, life insurance or other benefits to active and disabled thoroughbred jockeys or standardbred drivers under the rules and eligibility requirements of that organization.
Section 61. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Community Mitigation Fund.
he fund shall consist of monies transferred under section 59 and all other monies credited or transferred to the fund from any other fund or source.
(b) The commission shall administer the fund and, without further appropriation, shall expend monies in the fund to assist the host community and surrounding communities in offsetting costs related to the construction and operation of a gaming establishment including, but not limited to, communities and water and sewer districts in the vicinity of a gaming establishment, local and regional education, transportation, infrastructure, housing, environmental issues and public safety, including the office of the county district attorney, police, fire and emergency services. The commission may, at its discretion, distribute funds to a governmental entity or district other than a single municipality in order to implement a mitigation measure that affects more than 1 municipality; provided, however, that such entity or district shall submit a written request for funding in the same manner as a municipality would be required to submit such a request under subsection (c).
(c) Parties requesting appropriations from the fund shall submit a written request for funding to the commission before February 1 of each year. The commission may hold a public hearing in the region of a gaming establishment to provide parties with the opportunity to provide further information about their request for funds and shall distribute funds to requesting parties based on demonstrated need.
Section 62. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a fund to be known as the Transportation Infrastructure and Development Fund. The fund shall consist of monies transferred from the Gaming Revenue Fund and all other monies credited or transferred to the fund from any other fund or source and proceeds from the investment of such funds. The secretary of transportation shall be the trustee of this fund; provided, however, that no funds shall be expended until the secretary of administration and finance has provided written approval annually of a proposed spending plan. Any expenditures from this fund shall be solely for the purpose of transportation and related infrastructure projects including but not limited to, transit expansion and maintenance; provided, however, that not less than 50 per cent of such expenditures shall be dedicated for the purpose of supplementing, and not offsetting, any expenditures made for the construction and reconstruction of municipal ways as described in clause (b) of the second paragraph of section 4 of chapter 6C.
Section 63. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a fund to be known as the Gaming Local Aid Fund. The fund shall consist of monies transferred under section 59 and all monies credited or transferred to the fund from any other fund or source and shall be subject to appropriation. Funds shall be distributed to cities and towns in accordance with the formula used to determine the distribution of unrestricted general government aid under section 3 of the general appropriation act. Monies from the fund shall be used in addition to the balance of the State Lottery Fund for distribution to cities and towns under clause (c) of the second paragraph of section 35 of chapter 10 and any monies so distributed shall be considered part of general revenue sharing aid for purposes of annual aid and contribution requirements established pursuant to chapter 70 or section 3 of the annual general appropriation act.
Section 64. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a fund to be known as the Education Fund. The fund shall be credited any monies transferred under section 59 and all monies credited to or transferred to the fund from any other fund or source. Expenditures from the fund shall be subject to appropriation; provided, however, that 35 per cent of the funds received shall be appropriated for the purposes of higher education to supplement, not offset, any reduction in the general appropriation act from the previous fiscal year; and provided further, that any expenditures from the fund for K-12 education shall be used to supplement, and not offset, any reduction in line-item 7061-0008 of the general appropriation act from the previous fiscal year’s general appropriation act.
Section 66. Unless the commission otherwise determines it to be in the best fiscal interests of the commonwealth, the commission shall utilize the services of an independent testing laboratory that has been qualified and approved by the commission pursuant to this chapter to perform the testing of slot machines and other gaming equipment and may also utilize applicable data from the independent testing laboratory, or from a governmental agency of a state other than the commonwealth, authorized to regulate slot machines and other gaming equipment.
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2011/Chapter194
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