SouthCoast seeks deadline for federal action on tribal casino

SouthCoast seeks deadline for federal action on tribal casino

By NATALIE SHERMAN

nsherman@s-t.com

July 02, 2012

 

The SouthCoast's legislative delegation wants the deal the governor is negotiating with the Mashpee Wampanoag to include a deadline for federal approval of the plan. They say the deadline will be a safeguard against the chance the region will lose out on casino development.

"The issue of whether the compact includes a time limit for the federal government to act one way or another in taking land into trust is very important to SouthCoast members of the Legislature," said Rep. William M. Straus, D-Mattapoisett. "Next to transportation, that is essentially the companion issue that people are looking for in any compact that might result from the government's negotiations."

Gov. Deval Patrick must present the Legislature with a compact by July 31.

By law, the Mashpee Wampanoag can only open a tribal casino if the federal government agrees to take their land into trust — a course of action that the Supreme Court appeared to block in 2009 when it ruled that tribes must have fallen under federal jurisdiction by 1934 to qualify for land set-asides.

The Mashpee won recognition in 2007.

"Who knows if land will be taken into trust?" said Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral D-New Bedford, who put forward an amendment during the initial casino debate that would have set a deadline for federal action. His proposal failed without administration support, he said. "Why should we be the only region without the opportunity to pursue a casino?"

The so-called Carcieri decision sparked a second round of lawsuits because the Bureau of Indian Affairs continued to take land into trust for tribes recognized after 1934.

The Carcieri decision also sparked talk of a congressional "Carcieri fix" that would allow tribes recognized after 1934 to qualify. The fix, however, might open states to the prospect of many more casinos and hurt established gaming interests.

Fourth District U.S. Rep. Barney Frank said there is no possibility that Congress will act on the Carcieri fix in the foreseeable future.

"I think there is zero chance of any congressional action," he said. "I don't know why people thought it was moving. There's no committee moving on it that I know of."

A spokeswoman for Sen. John Kerry said the state's senior senator supports addressing the Carcieri problem, while a spokesman for Sen. Scott Brown has declined to take a position.

Kerry supports a "Carcieri fix" as a matter of "fairness and ensuring that all tribes have the same opportunity to place lands in trust," according to his spokeswoman, Whitney Smith.

A spokesman for Brown said the matter is not currently before the Senate or his committees and he would "begin a full review when it comes forward."

In June, the Bureau of Indian Affairs began hearings to determine if the tribe has legitimate ties to the Taunton area, where the Mashpee Wampanoag have proposed the casino.

In June, the Bureau of Indian Affairs conducted an environmental review of the proposed site.

If the Bureau determines the ties extend back before 1934, that could provide a way around the 2009 decision, said Steve Light, a co-director of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law & Policy at the University of North Dakota.

The tribe has to "demonstrate a tie all the way through that would allow it to be under federal jurisdiction," said Light, adding, "That process of proof can take a heck of a long time, ordinarily."

Even if the Bureau of Indian Affairs decides in favor of the Mashpee, the tribe could still lose in court, said Matthew Fletcher, a professor of indigenous law at Michigan State University.

"The Bureau of Indian Affairs barely wins 50 percent of its cases — compare that to most other federal agencies that win 70-90 percent of cases. Federal courts rarely defer to Interior decisions in Indian affairs," Fletcher wrote in an email.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120702/NEWS/207020352/-1/NEWS10

Pipe Dreams of Non-Existent Revenues

Governor: It’s 'too soon' to talk about funding rail with casino revenue

By NATALIE SHERMAN

nsherman@s-t.com

June 29, 2012

NEW BEDFORD — Gov. Deval Patrick refused this week to commit to trying to fund South Coast rail with casino revenues, even as more local leaders signed on Thursday in support of the proposal.

Patrick is in negotiations with the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, who want to build a casino in Taunton. By law, he must conclude those negotiations and present a proposed compact to the Legislature by July 31.

“South Coast Rail is a priority for this administration but it is too soon to talk about specific funding for any specific project from any gaming revenue,” said Jason Lefferts, a spokesman for Patrick, in a statement issued Wednesday to The Standard-Times.

The statement was an unenthusiastic response to the letter sent Tuesday by Mayor Jon Mitchell and Rep. William Straus of Mattapoisett, which formally asked Patrick to consider reserving a portion of the revenue from the Taunton casino for the South Coast rail project.

Mitchell and Straus say the traffic caused by the Taunton casino will further isolate Southeastern Massachusetts, hurting the region economically — and on Thursday, the New Bedford City Council voted 9-0 to write to the governor in support of the proposal.

“I think it only makes sense to include that language in the compact,” said Ward 5 Councilor Jane Gonsalves, who sponsored the motion. “Rail is a way to get people to the casino without putting cars on the road.”

Straus said today he found the governor’s statement “disappointing” and maintained that the compact was an “ideal place” to determine how to distribute casino revenue.

“In this case, the transportation improvements which a casino like this would require should

absolutely be a part of the compact,” he said, adding that the project’s lack of financing was its main obstacle.

“I honestly don’t know how you can be a supporter of South Coast rail without trying to identify where the specific funding will come from.”

Typically, states can take 3 to 8 percent of tribal gaming casino revenue, said gaming law expert Steve Light, a director of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law & Policy at the University of North Dakota.

The compact would include money for investment in economic development projects, as the casino law requires, but Lefferts made no promises about South Coast rail in particular.

“Broadly speaking, the Expanding Gaming Act requires investing a portion of commercial gaming revenues in projects that support economic development and infrastructure and we are working on a compact for a tribal facility that is consistent with the principles of the Expanding Gaming Act,” he said in the statement.

Studies have determined that for every $1 in Gambling Revenue paid to the state, the cost to taxpayers will be $3 because of increased crime, increased social costs, increased bankruptcies, increased family destruction, and even low wage casino workers receiving taxpayer funded benefits.

That's why Beacon Hill refused to conduct an INDEPENDENT COST ANALYSIS. They didn't want you to know!

For elected officials to commit revenues to another Folly, resembling the Big Dig, defines those Pipe Dreams.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120629/NEWS/120629866/-1/NEWSMAP

Sprinkling Fairy Dust!

How many ways can uninformed politicians spend NON-EXISTENT revenues?

They apparently haven't figured out that this is a TRIBAL CASINO designed solely to benefit the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and their Malaysian financial backers, Genting, who have generously supported the Tribe.

There are NO REVENUES!

Millions of Massachusetts' taxpayer dollars will be spent upgrading stressed infrastructure that is currently gridlocked.

Mayor: Pay for rail with casino revenue

June 26, 2012

NEW BEDFORD — In a letter sent to Gov. Deval Patrick today, Mayor Jon Mitchell proposed tapping casino revenue to finance commuter rail.

The money would make up for the pressure a Taunton casino is expected to put on commuter traffic between Boston and New Bedford, Mitchell and Rep. William M. Straus argue in the letter.

Patrick is in the midst of negotiating a compact with the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, which has proposed a casino in Taunton.

“We must take bold, creative steps now to avoid looming economic and social isolation for New Bedford and the region," Mitchell said. "Dedicating a portion of the Taunton casino revenues to South Coast Rail is exactly the kind of decisive and far-thinking step needed right now. It will go a long way toward mitigating the adverse transportation and economic impacts of the Taunton casino on New Bedford.”

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120626/NEWS/120629910

Mr. Speaker, What are you hiding?

Mired neck-deep in the Probation Dept. scandal, Massachusetts House Speaker "Racino" DeLeo has embarked on a statewide campaign to deflect attention from "Patronage as usual" to his flawed Slot Barn proposal.

His zeal is suspect.

Few would be surprised if the current Speaker followed the long line of indicted predecessors.

Below is a SHNS article about SB 339 calling for an INDEPENDENT COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS.

Beacon Hill has frittered away taxpayers' hard-earned dollars on phony reports that extol the wildly exaggerated revenue and job creation numbers, beginning with the Governor spending $189,000 for the first Spectrum Gaming report.

None of those reports considered the costs and impacts that will be imposed on communities and regions. Those costs will be substantial.

The Massachusetts Lottery provides more revenue to Massachusetts cities and towns than 256 Nevada Casinos.

Here:
Massachusetts Lottery earns more than Nevada's 256 Casinos
Massachusetts Lottery Revenues:

2008 $913 million
2009 $859 million
2010 $903 million

From this article:
Largest Nev. Casinos Lose $3.4B During Fiscal 2010
Nevada's 256 largest casinos lose $3.4B during fiscal 2010, compared with $6.8B previous year [And don't miss that article!]
The Associated Press
By OSKAR GARCIA Associated Press

Nevada's 256 casinos paid $777.6 million in taxes


Maybe it's time for Beacon Hill to clean house and restore transparency and ethics before embarking on another BLOATED REGULATORY BUREAUCRACY filled with unqualified political hacks and campaign contributors.

Please note that not one of Middleboro's elected delegation signed on to co-sponsor this legislation. Each of them voted for this flawed legislation, even the crap produced on the closing day of the legislative session that contained 17 pages of ERRATA, some of which changed the intent.

Maybe one-party rule doesn't make sense when we send mindless dweebs to Boston who are incapable of supporting the best interests of the Commonwealth over the strong-arming of the Speaker.



From:
Florida: False Promises

A 2010 report by the New Hampshire Gambling Commission concluded that adding one casino (in New Hampshire) would raise $219 million in state revenue, but the total social cost would be $287.7 million: a net drain of $68.7 million.




BREWER FILES BILL TO REQUIRE GAMBLING COSTS-BENEFIT ANALYSIS
[from SHNS, no link available]
By Kyle Cheney
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, FEB. 5, 2011…..Sen. Stephen Brewer, appointed to the Senate’s most powerful budget-writing post last month by Senate President Therese Murray, is backing legislation championed by anti-gambling forces that requires a detailed cost-benefit analysis as a prerequisite to the introduction of slot parlors or casinos.

“We want a data-driven discussion,” said Kathleen Conley Norbut, an anti-gambling advocate who previously led United to Stop Slots Massachusetts. “We don’t want benefit studies done by the gambling industries having that kind of disinformation continue to be spread.”

Brewer, who voted against expanded gambling legislation last session, has declared himself open-minded on the issue and was appointed to chair to Senate Ways and Means Committee despite voting last year to reject a proposal that would have sanctioned three casinos and two slot parlors. The bill passed the House and Senate in July but died when Gov. Deval Patrick sent it back to the Legislature after lawmakers had adjourned formal sessions for the year.

Expanded gambling critics have pushed for a cost-benefit analysis, arguing other studies commissioned by the governor and Legislature omitted details about the potential downside of expanded gambling.

Brewer did not respond to a request for comment.

Brewer’s proposal, co-sponsored by 20 lawmakers, would require Patrick to commission a “comprehensive independent analysis of the costs and benefits” of legalizing new forms of gambling in Massachusetts. The study would be required to assess:

- Impacts on communities that host expanded gambling facilities and other communities within a 25-mile radius;
- Short-term, medium-term and long-term impacts that factor in the potential effect of gambling facilities being built in other states along the Massachusetts border, the impact of a potential casino on tribal land in Massachusetts, and the potential impact of the legalization of internet gambling;
- The effect on the economy that occurs because of jobs created by the gambling industry but also “the adverse impacts on jobs whose existence pre-dates” expanded gambling;
- The increase in tax revenue to the state, but also “the anticipated loss or diminution of revenues” from businesses damaged by the introduction of gambling; and,
- The costs to Massachusetts or communities hosting gambling facilities of establishing a new regulatory structure to oversee the industry, addressing any increase in criminal activity that results from gambling, incarcerating those found guilty of violating new gambling laws, capital improvements necessary to accommodate new gambling facilities, compulsive gambling, increased bankruptcies, and increased health care utilization to address gambling addiction issues.

According to the legislation, if the study concludes that the expanded gambling’s costs outweigh its benefits, any expanded gambling legislation would require two-third approval in the House and the Senate to reach the governor’s desk.

Norbut, who is also listed as a co-sponsor of the legislation, blistered House Speaker Robert DeLeo, who has vowed a renewed push for expanded gambling this session.

“The speaker borders on being obsessed with this issue, and that’s unfortunate for the comprehensive needs of the commonwealth,” she said. “It’s no surprise to hear him continuing to go with supporting misinformation.”

DeLeo has supported expanded gambling, particularly slot parlors at existing racetracks, as an immediate source of local aid for cities and towns who are bracing for a cut next fiscal year.

“The speaker’s made his concerns clear in the dire fiscal situation about the need for revenue and the need for jobs,” said DeLeo spokesman Seth Gitell.

Asked whether he’d be open to a cost-benefit analysis, Gitell said, “At this time we haven’t seen the bill in the House.”

DeLeo and Gov. Patrick have indicated they might try to work out their differences on gambling behind closed doors to prevent the issue from consuming the legislative agenda. But both have also recently acknowledged they haven’t had a substantive conversation about gambling since talks collapsed last July.

Sen. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster) filed a three-casino proposal in early January, hoping to spur debate on the issue earlier in the session and prevent a repeat of last year’s race against the clock.

Co-sponsors of Brewer’s bill include: Rep. Ellen Story (D-Amherst), a House Floor Division leader; Rep. William Brownsberger (D-Belmont); Rep. Thomas Conroy (D-Wayland); Rep. James Lyons (R-Andover); Rep. Elizabeth Malia (D-Jamaica), co-chair of the Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse; Rep. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton); Rep. Carlo Basile (D-East Boston); Rep. Frank Smizik (D-Brookline); Rep. Ruth Balser (D-Newton); Rep. Carolyn Dykema (D-Holliston); Rep. Todd Smola (R-Palmer); Rep. Brian Ashe (D-Longmeadow); Rep. Denise Provost (D-Somerville); Sen. Patricia Jehlen (D-Somerville); Sen. Susan Fargo (D-Lincoln); Sen. Cynthia Creem (D-Newton); Sen. Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge); Sen. Michael Knapik (R-Westfield); Sen. James Eldridge (D-Acton); and Sen. Benjamin Downing (D-Pittsfield).

If you don't want to be treated like a clown........

When the Slap Dash House version of the Industry Crafted legislation was released on a Friday, with amendments due on Monday, a wasted weekend spent wading through the flawed disaster. April Fool's!

The opponents attempted to improve the disaster with sensible legislation, including a Self Exclusion Amendment that barely passed.

My Representative, Tom Calter, voted against the amendment and has failed to offer an explanation in spite of two queries for his reasoning. Not to worry! He's toast in November!

But then Representative Steve Canessa (a Middleboro Rep. as well) also voted against it and also ignored my inquiry.

Middleboro is BLESSED with 3 State Reps., the other? The Invisible William Straus who hasn't located Middleboro on the map. He got lost once and we saw him. At least I think it was him.

Then came the Slap Dash Senate version, differing in many respects, crafted, we are told by Senate President's lackey, Senator Rosenberg, the elf pictured here.

Since that version was also released....was it Father's Day weekend? Amendments also required to be submitted by Monday, there went that weekend!

NO comparison was ever done as far as I know because I requested it from several sources.

When the most recent Slap Dash version was released from the Conference Committee on Friday, did anyone seriously expect a reasonable product?

And these were the House Speaker's Pearls of Wisdom --

“Been disrespected once too many” times by Patrick, the chair said.

“Going to fight back,” the chair said DeLeo told members.

After reading legislation, amendments, watching and reading testimony, new reading glasses were required, and honestly? How could you expect something reasonable and responsible to be produced by this crowd?

ERRATA CORRECTED MISTAKES IN GAMBLING BILL

On Monday morning, two days after the gambling bill passed the House and Senate, the Legislature's website featured an error-riddled draft of the proposal, with no corrected version.

The six lawmakers who negotiated the compromise gambling bill signed off Sunday on 17 pages worth of changes to the bill, including some that erase sections of the bill and another that revises the formula used to distribute the states' gambling proceeds. The corrections, obtained by the News Service, also strike a section that requires gambling license applications to be public records.

As of Monday morning, the Legislature's website included the lengthy lists of corrections, known as "errata," but lawmakers were denied the chance at an explanation before the bills passed, and the effects of the changes remain unclear.

A pair of gambling critics sought an explanation during Saturday's race to pass the bills but were ignored, as Senate President Murray steamrolled the bills through and opted to ignore gambling opponents who raised questions about certain procedural motions. Murray, who has frequently pointed to the Senate's eight days of debate on its original gambling proposal in June, clamped down on Saturday, in the rush to get the bills to Patrick's desk by midnight, the end of formal business for the year.

Sen. Stanley Rosenberg (D-Amherst), Murray's point-man on gambling, told the News Service Monday that gambling application will still be public under language in a separate part of the bill. He also said sections that were struck pertaining to Native American tribes were duplicates of sections included elsewhere.

Although the errata struck a public health fund, Rosenberg said the bill maintains the same amount of public-health-related funding.

On the final night, Murray rammed through orders restricting debate on the final gambling bills to two 30-minute periods. When the bills came up to be sent to the governor, she restricted debate to two 10-minute periods. During those periods, Murray recognized only gambling supporters for the bulk of that time, permitting a gambling opponent to speak at the end of one of the 10-minute periods. As late as Saturday evening, some members, including Sen. Susan Tucker (D-Andover), the Senate's most vocal gambling opponent, were unaware that the conferees had filed any corrections.

Other members said they had difficulty accessing the corrections even after they were aware of their existence. Kathleen Conley Norbut, head of United to Stop Slots Massachusetts, told the News Service she has yet to see a corrected version of the gambling bills.

"Problem being neither did legislators who already voted on the bill before theses errors were identified. They did not have an opportunity to do their job and honor the people's business," she said in an email. "The people have no reason to believe that there aren't other errors in this catastrophic special interest rush-job."


After hearing about this, many voters - faithful voters some whom worked hard to get some of these candidates elected are questioning the process, questioning the seriousness with which these people hold their office and represent them.

They didn't even know what they were voting on?

We can do better!

And so, if you don't want to be treated like a clown, you can't behave like one.

So much for 'Getting it right'!

Once upon a time ....

Middleboro voters faithfully elected a Representative to Beacon Hill to act in their stead. He had a well known local name.

He managed to find the exotic location of Beacon Hill once or twice a year, usually when cranberry legislation was voted on. Voters never noticed and had no option on the ballot.

The Absent Representative enjoyed widespread support because he had no opposition, surely retiring on a cushy taxpayer funded pension for a no-show job.

Then, things changed.


Now, Middleboro enjoys being represented by 3 Representatives, one who sees fit to send his "aide" to all functions.

This lackluster Representative is the flip-flopping Representative William Straus.

Democracy is NOT a spectator sport. Maybe it's time to replace the invisible Straus with someone who will conduct his due diligence and actually represent the best interests of his constituents.

Honorable Rep. Straus:

In the years you have served as representative to 2 of Middleboro's
Precincts, I have seen you ONCE and sometimes wonder if I should
send a map.

Although you might not represent my district, we all understand
about the gerrymandering, so, from that perspective, you have
accepted the responsibility of representing my TOWN.

When the casino monster reared its ugly head in Middleboro,
you were no where to be seen. You were silent.

When I emailed information to you about the negative aspects
of 'casino' gambling, I found myself subscribed to your pretty
mind numbing newsletter.

And now this?

http://www.necn.com/07/26/10/Broadside-Casino-gaming-in-Mass/landing_politics.html?blockID=277806&feedID=4212

The current legislation, as proposed, whether House or Senate
version is FLAWED - grossly flawed.

Speaking solely as a novice, I can see the flaws that are ripe for
corruption and political influence. In the shadow of the Probation
Department scandal, the BLOATED REGULATORY BUREAUCRACY
reeks of patronage - political hacks and relatives.

That's just for starters.

To legalize slots, represents a major change in fiscal policy with which
I and many others heartily disagree.

This isn't about exotic and elegant 'resorts.' For $600 million, you get
a SLOT BARN, just as Sheldon Adelson constructed at Sands
Bethlehem.

Senator Rosenberg has acknowledged publicly that there is no legal
manner to limit those SLOT PARLORS.

What is passed during this session, will exist for this session only.

The job numbers are overstated.

The revenue numbers are overstated.

Each is easily discredited and refuted.

I respectfully request that you consider the experience of other communities,
maybe even the disaster that is Atlantic City --
http://middlebororemembers.blogspot.com/search/label/Atlantic%20City

...the McKinsey report refers to it as fact, citing statistics that show the city’s violent crime rate in 2009 far exceeded the national average and trumps other cities such as Trenton and Biloxi, Miss, according to federal statisitics.

While you were snoozing for the last + 3 years, some of us
have been collecting statistics about slot parlors.

The poverty rate is higher in Atlantic City than pre-casino.
The unemployment has never been reduced below the national average.

Or - take a look at Las Vegas, with the nation's highest dropout rate,
the poorest educational attainment levels - lowest college graduation
rate, five times the national average for home foreclosures, among
the highest suicide rate - perhaps attributed to gambling addiction.

http://middlebororemembers.blogspot.com/search/label/Las%20Vegas

Is that what you're supporting?


Sometimes, instead of listening to gambling lobbyists, you also have to
look at yourself in the mirror.

Please give some thought to your support.

Respectfully,

Rep. William Straus: The Invisible Flip-Flopper

Rep. William Straus represents 2 precincts in Middleboro.

Has anyone ever seen him?

Does he know where Middleboro is?

He's a spokesperson?

http://www.necn.com/07/26/10/Broadside-Casino-gaming-in-Mass/landing_politics.html?blockID=277806&feedID=4212

It doesn't get any more mindless than this!

Email or call your reps. PLEASE after watching this!

Find their contact info here: http://uss-mass.org/

Is this flawed legislation what we want?

Tell your friends, too.

Thanks for all you do!

From a friend --

Representatives of CasinoFacts.org, including myself, met with Strauss back in 2008 to share our thoughts and information with him, and to learn more about his position. He seemed anti, but reluctant to say for pick a side. Then, in late 2008, Strauss appeared as an anti-casino voice at a debate in New Bedford. I shook his hand after it was over and thanked him for his words. To any in attendance, he was very anti expanded gambling.

Then, in the House debate, when we were sure he'd vote against, he voted for casinos. Now he's on Braude sounding like he works for Harrahs. Go figure.