New task force studying growth in Massachusetts

Jennifer Peter

Thursday, Nov. 14, 2002 | 9:45 a.m.

BOSTON -- The gaping budget deficit, the new governor's anti-tax promises, and the encroachment of casinos in neighboring states has made expanded gambling an imminent possibility in Massachusetts, according to members of a new task force.

"People have talked about it for years, but now they're sitting down and studying it," said Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn, a task force member and president of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. "In the past, it's been talk. Now it's real."

The 19-member task force, which held its first meeting Tuesday, has been charged with preparing a report on the impacts of expanded gambling by Dec. 31, days before the new legislative session begins.

"I have no doubt, and you don't have to be an expert in reading the political tea leaves, that expanded gambling will be a topic of great discussion by the Legislature and the governor in the coming session," said Essex County District Attorney Kevin Burke, the commission chairman who has opposed gambling in the past.

Expanded gambling is being revived as a potential budget remedy just six months after the state House soundly defeated proposals for a casino in southeastern Massachusetts and slot machines at the state's four racetracks.

Since then, however, the state's revenues have continued to plummet, forcing additional cuts in social services, and voters have elected a new governor, Republican Mitt Romney, who has pledged to fill the $1.5 billion budget gap without raising taxes.

Romney, who takes office in January, has said he would be open to the possibility of expanded gambling, as has incoming Senate President Robert E. Travaglini, D-Boston.

Adding fuel to the debate was last week's elections, when Holyoke voters supported a nonbinding referendum for a casino in their struggling city. The close vote on a statewide initiative to eliminate the income tax also has made it more likely that lawmakers will seek alternatives to raise money, task force members said. The question failed but by a much narrower margin than anticipated.

"If you look at the votes in this past election ... there's a major concern about taxes, and this is an alternative to an increase in taxes, so I think this is going to generate a lot of interest," said Public Safety Secretary James Jajuga, a committee member who sponsored casino legislation as a state senator.

In its first meeting, the task force decided to hold four public hearings on the evenings of Dec. 3, 5, 10 and 12. The exact locations have not been determined but there will be one each in southeastern, northeastern and western Massachusetts and a final one in Boston.

The commission also formed four subcommittees to review the social and cultural impact of gaming, how it would be regulated, the economic development repercussions, and what it would mean for state and local revenues.

The panel will review all forms of gambling expansion, including Indian gaming. The Wampanoag Indian Tribe of Martha's Vineyard has long sought to build a casino near New Bedford or Fall River.

A central concern to state lawmakers and the localities they represent is what effect expanded gambling would have on the state lottery, which sends millions of dollars in aid to cities and towns each year.

"This money pays for fire, police and schools," McGlynn said. "We just want all the facts on the table before we make any decisions."

Gambling supporters argue that money is currently draining out of Massachusetts to Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York, which have casinos or slot machines.

In 1997, a state panel recommended against legalizing casino gambling in Massachusetts, saying it would hurt the state more than help.

"Once people take a deliberate look at it, they are reluctant to approve it," said commission member Kathleen Scanlan, executive director of the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling.

This time around, however, others pointed out, the financial pressures are greater.

"I think the fiscal crisis makes it much more of an issue this year than it was five years ago," said state Administration and Finance Secretary Kevin Sullivan, a commission member.

Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom would not comment on how much weight the new governor would give to recommendations from the task force, which was commissioned by his predecessor.

"We look forward to receiving their report and recommendation," Fehrnstrom said. "Casino gambling is an issue that deserves careful analysis of its costs and benefits."