Lawmakers figure how to close the budget gap without casinos

Gov. Deval Patrick's plan to build three resort casinos in Massachusetts to boost state revenues was shut down on the House floor last week, effectively killing the bill until next January, with the state facing a $1.3 billion spending gap.

Massachusetts lawmakers must now find alternate revenue-boosting methods in the face of a "gloomy economic forecast," said Victoria Bonney, spokeswoman for House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi.

Patrick said the proposed legislation would raise $124 million in casino licensing fees to help balance the state's budget, but now legislators must look elsewhere for the money.

In lieu of the casino plan, DiMasi, a Boston Democrat, has proposed a $1 tax increase on cigarette packs, which he said will raise $152 million in revenue.

"Without the casinos, there will be a major shortfall in the budget," said Rep. Martin Walsh, a Dorchester Democrat. "We'll have to take millions from the rainy day fund and cut a lot from the state budget."

The rainy day fund acts as a safety net and was started by former Speaker Thomas Finneran. During an economic surplus the government puts away money to use in the event of an economic downturn, and Walsh said they will have to use it to close this year's spending gap.

He said the casino bill was not given a "fair shot" and legislators rushed through the vote without having the opportunity to strengthen the bill.

Since the bill did not pass, Walsh said he would like to look at raising the alcohol tax, which has not been changed since 1975. Other potential money-making proposals include changing corporate tax laws that would generate $204 million and budget cuts that would free up $100 million, according to the House Balanced Budget Prosposal.

"If we don't have the money to spend on the things we want, we need to cut the budget," Walsh said. "Sometimes the cuts are hard or deep, but we need to look at them."

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe is lobbying the federal government for permission to build a $1 billion resort casino in Middleborough, which would bring gambling to Massachusetts without any state government regulation.

Walsh said the possibility of a tribal casino -- which the Wampanoags have said they want to begin constructing by this time next year -- is very real.

Democratic Rep. Ruth Balser of Newton said the casinos would introduce social ills that outweigh any potential economic gain.

"Introducing casinos would be exploiting a very serious illness and would expand the increasing prevalence of the addiction," she said. "It would be as though the commonwealth went into drug dealing."

The state lottery is the only legal form of Massachusetts gambling, but the commonwealth's residents visit nearby casinos, said Rep. John Quinn, a Dartmouth Democrat.

Massachusetts currently has no budget for gambling addiction treatment, he said, but part of the casino proposal required $50 million be spent on treatment. If passed, the treatment fund would be the highest in the country and the first in the state.

Quinn said Massachusetts residents feel the social consequences of gambling because people travel to Rhode Island and Connecticut casinos. "So if there are social costs, we are already experiencing them with no money to pay for it," he said.

"It's here and it's coming in larger doses," Quinn said. "We're much better off regulating it up front."