Legislators are attempting to close a $1 billion shortfall in the state budget.
Massachusetts House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo speaks with state Rep. Michael F. Kane during a Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House in FebruaryBOSTON -- Apparently unable to make an immediate deal with Gov. Deval L. Patrick on a bill to expand gambling, the speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives is tabling casino talks for now.
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo told reporters that he would wait until the budget process is complete before moving ahead on a possible agreement with the governor on casinos. State legislators are attempting to close $1 billion shortfall in the state budget.
"No," said DeLeo, a Winthrop Democrat, when asked by a reporter if there were any solid plans to discuss gambling with Patrick. "We're still trying to get through the budget process here."
Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said gambling discussions among the Senate president, the speaker and the governor boil down to one "very simple" issue.
"Are we going to have slots in the box or not? And if we are, are they going to be by competition or designated licenses? That's basically an issue they are discussing," said Rosenberg, the Senate point man on casinos. "When they resolve it, then they can present a proposal to the Legislature."
Stanley RosenbergA casino bill collapsed last year after a showdown between DeLeo and Patrick over slot machines at the tracks. DeLeo, son of a late track worker in Boston, has insisted on slots for the tracks while Patrick has supported just casino resorts.
"They are apparently not in agreement," Rosenberg said. "They still have differences of opinion."
Rosenberg said the delay in casino talks shouldn't be viewed as a bad sign for casinos. He said legislative leaders are just focused on other issues instead of casinos.
DeLeo's concession that the budget is overwhelming casinos appears to be a shift from his earlier statements that he hoped to speak with Patrick when the governor returned from his recent international trade mission. The delay also appears to contradict Patrick's recent statements that he was hopeful on casinos because he was talking with DeLeo.
A spokesman for DeLeo said there have only been preliminary discussions on casinos.
Sen. Gale D. Candaras, D-Wilbraham, who supports casinos, said she agrees that gambling talks should be delayed until completion of the state budget. Patrick usually signs the annual spending budget around the end of June or July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. The House and the Senate still need to approve their versions of the $30 billion budget, after Patrick unveiled his plan in January.
"We've seen what happens when casino gaming becomes the issue," Candaras said. "It sucks all the oxygen out of the Statehouse. It's very difficult to get any other work done."
Michael R. KnapikAnother casino advocate, Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield, said he can understand DeLeo's position on delaying a casino debate. Knapik said he hopes "the big three" reach a compromise in time to generate government revenues from casinos for next year.
"Fall is not a bad time for this," Knapik said. "If we are going to make a serious run at 2012 revenues we have to do it sooner rather than later."
Material from the State House News Service was used.