Monday marked the Autumnal Equinox, with nearly equal parts day and night. That's pretty much the opposite of a casino, where there are no clocks and there's no sense of time. A new report from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center just dropped on gambling revenue, and experts say Massachusetts lawmakers and regulators have some big issues to watch as the industry continues to grow here. State House News Service reporter Alison Kuznitz explains what analysts are calling out.
Alison Kuznitz, SHNS: Gambling revenue has really been an important source of funding for the state as far as funding public programs. The issue that this new Mass Budget [and Policy Center] report points out, is that casino gambling revenue has really been stagnant since the rise of sports betting, and this is an issue because sports betting online wagers are taxed at a lower rate than casino gambling.
So, there's going to be the concern of what happens if sports betting cannibalizes casino gambling and Mass Budget says the public harms might start to (overtake) the public benefits from these legalized forms of gambling.
Carrie Healy, NEPM: And this comes as state gaming regulators continue a push to expand legal gaming online. Can you remind me what they're proposing and where we are on that timeline?
So, this isn't necessarily as much in the purview of the Gaming Commission right now, but it is kind of before lawmakers, especially before the Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee. They do have that bill from Rep. (David) Muradian, (of Worcester) that would allow for online gaming to be legal in Massachusetts. Rep. Muradian frames this as an antidote to the decline of the plateau of casino gambling in response to the rise of legalized sports betting.
Lawmakers are also watching the rollout of online lottery from Massachusetts Treasurer Deb Goldberg. She expects more than $70 million in net profit from online sales next year. So that's another area that the state is watching as gambling continues to evolve into the online landscape.
Let's talk about housing. Governor Maura Healey says tackling the housing crisis is a top priority. Meanwhile, Vermont Public Radio and VT Digger reported last week that Vermont has invested nearly $800 million in housing since 2020. But despite building and renovating about 4,300 units and homes, officials say it hasn't been enough there. By comparison, Massachusetts is rolling out a $5.16 billion plan.
So, given the size of Massachusetts investment, what specific goals or benchmarks should we be watching for to understand whether the Healey administration's housing plan is delivering on its promises?
Well, one of the big numbers that's thrown around in state housing policy discussions is that Massachusetts needs to build 220,000 new housing units in the next decade to resolve the housing crunch. And you've seen that there's a number of policies embedded within the Affordable Homes Act. And you've seen Governor Healey start to roll out some of those policy measures as well.
For example, earlier this month, (Healey) outlined a plan to significantly cut the timeline for environmental reviews to speed up housing. Last month, she unveiled a tax credit that would basically assist with the conversion of unused commercial property into mixed use housing residential space.
Some folks who have been pushing for a ballot question that would allow rent stabilization, say other levers are needed as well, because housing production is just not coming at the pace that the state really needs to solve the housing crunch.
Moving on, the House last week overwhelmingly approved a $234 million package to support hospitals and community health centers. The bill steers most of the money toward hospitals under financial strain. The only lawmaker to oppose the bill was Rep. Nicholas Boldyga of Southwick. Was that lone dissenting vote by Rep. Boldyga for that otherwise popular health care legislation expected?
I think a vote like that from this Republican lawmaker is expected.
You do see a small contingent of Republican lawmakers consistently voting against spending packages. But the way that the House voted on this the spending package last week, there was really no debate. The only person who spoke during the House debate on this was actually Rep. John Lawn (of Watertown), who was in headlines in July for his arrest after being charged with drunken driving right outside the statehouse.
There was actually more unexpected news out of the Senate that voted on it last Thursday. That's when Senate Ways and Means Chair (Sen.) Mike Rodrigues [of Westport] revealed, the really dire state of hospitals, and described how without the Legislature approving this new source of funding, that some hospitals could actually just financially collapse.
