Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
After more than two decades of high-profile debate, Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday signed a gaming bill that will permit up to three full-scale casinos in different regions of the state plus a single slot machine-only facility.
Intended to bring jobs to the Bay State and provide new revenues for state and local government, the law starts a process to create a powerful new state agency that will be charged with licensing and overseeing new gaming operations. The signing of the law also marks the start of a scramble by gaming companies to prepare plans and applications seeking one of the lucrative new licenses.
While it may take several years before casino doors open, cities and towns that would host or are near a possible site should expect a surge of activity as developers prepare applications for submission to the new state agency, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. The commission could issue a request for applications early next year, and the review and approval process could move quickly.
The new law requires applicants to identify the impact of their project on local infrastructure and to provide a signed agreement between the host community and the applicant, including a community impact fee. It also requires eligible applicants to commit to an agreement and impact fee with surrounding cities and towns.
An eligible applicant must also have received a favorable vote at a local election in the host municipality. The gaming commission will hold a public hearing on any application.
In determining whether an applicant should be granted a license, the commission is required to take into account plans to mitigate any impact on the host and surrounding cities and towns tied to the development and operation of the gaming facility, as well as the level of public support for the proposal.
The three regions of the state where a full-scale casino could be located are the following: the five eastern counties (Suffolk, Middlesex, Essex, Norfolk and Worcester), western Massachusetts (Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin and Berkshire counties), and the southeastern part of the state (Bristol, Plymouth, Nantucket, Dukes and Barnstable counties).
The law creates more than a dozen new special purpose funds to receive a portion of license fees and taxes on casino profits, including a number of funds to benefit cities and towns.
A Gaming Local Aid Fund would receive 100 percent of the tax revenue from the slot-machine-only facility and 20 percent of the tax revenue from the full-scale casinos, although more than half of the casino amount would be diverted to a special Local Aid Stabilization Fund over time. The Gaming Local Aid Fund is intended to offset any loss in Lottery revenues – due to competition from slot machines and table games – that would have been used to fund municipal aid, and to provide new revenue to support the state’s municipal aid program.
The new law also creates a Community Mitigation Fund to help cities and towns with the impact of a new gaming development, an Education Fund to help pay for K-12 and higher education programs, and a Local Capital Project Fund.
A new 15-member Gaming Policy Advisory Committee, to be led by the governor and including three members from the vicinity of each of the casino facilities, would advise the gaming commission on policy matters, including community mitigation.
The advisory committee is charged with creating a subcommittee on community mitigation to include members from the casino host communities and one representative from the MMA. There are also subcommittees on addiction services and public safety.
Each region of the state would be authorized to establish special local community mitigation advisory committees that include at least one member from the host or surrounding community to a gaming facility.