This Wednesday, the House will vote on the special joint casino committee recommendation of "Inexpedient To Legislate" for SB152. Casino supporters will argue that the bill's dozens of defects and problems identified by the joint committee can be corrected by the so-called "omnibus" amendment.
Was the Omnibus Amendment Given Fair Hearing?
To reach its ITL recommendation, the joint committee worked intensively for a month, examining the pros and cons of this casino legislation more closely than any New Hampshire legislative body has ever done before. The 50-page "omnibus" amendment--offered by Reps. Ames, Leishman, Rogers and others and supported by the Governor as the best attempt at a full rewrite--was carefully reviewed by both the Regulations and the Community Impact subcommittees for a total of four days.
In the end, the omnibus amendment did not gain the support of either subcommittee because it failed to resolve or even address most of SB152's serious problems.
Who Negotiated This Give-Away Deal?
Perhaps the most troubling new concern shared by many joint committee members is how bad a deal this bill would be for the state. The 30 percent tax rate on slot machine gross win is the lowest rate of any casino bill ever considered by the legislature. The omnibus amendment makes no change in this give-away tax rate. Neither SB152 nor the omnibus amendment provide any guarantee that the state will receive even one dollar of promised tax revenue in return for the valuable monopoly casino license.
The table below shows a range of estimates for the discounted present value of the first twenty years of tax revenue foregone, i.e., revenue "left on the table."
Midrange, the give-away terms of SB152 would shift half a billion dollars from our state to an out-of-state casino owner. SB152 would be the state's most costly fiscal error in decades, an error that could not be fixed after a casino license is granted without inviting breach of contract litigation against state taxpayers. Legislators should resist the intense pressure to cave in and vote for SB152 regardless of its flagrantly adverse financial terms.
The $80 Million License Money Won't Be Available
After detailed examination of the timeline involved in casino licensing, the revenues subcommittee of the joint committee found that - best case - the promised $80 million in license revenue would not arrive until two days before the end of the coming budget biennium. Legislators wishing to avoid broken promises should not look to SB152 to fund mental health, higher education or highways.
Because needed state services cannot be funded by revenues that won't come in time, there is no valid reason to rush to pass this seriously flawed bill.
And ... the Unfixable Problems
Neither SB152 nor the omnibus amendment substantively address the major unfixable problems with casino gambling:
- Cannibalization of jobs and revenues from thousands of existing local hospitality businesses and entertainment venues.
- The thousands of additional gambling addicts, broken families, personal bankruptcies, and addiction-related crimes and attempted suicides that would result from even one casino.
- Certain proliferation of one casino into slots parlors statewide.
Nashua Telegraph Opposes SB152
While the Nashua Telegraph has for several years supported casinos, in the surprise move, the paper's Sunday editorial urges that the legislature reject SB152. The Telegraph describes SB152 as "... a desperate state dealt for a quick fix instead of making a careful assessment of the best way to maximize revenues over the long haul," and "It overstates revenues, understates expenses, and applies one-time revenue to recurring operating expenses."
Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce Opposes SB152
This past Thursday, the board of the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce voted unanimously to oppose SB152. The board determined that the proposed casino would use monopoly slot machine revenue to subsidize meals, drinks, rooms, and entertainment to the detriment of Seacoast hospitality businesses and nonprofits. Patricia Lynch, speaking for The Music Hall in Portsmouth said, "People will not come from around the world to gamble in New Hampshire, but they will come to a beautiful historic theater in a beautiful historic downtown that brings the best of everything."
Show Up This Wednesday and Vote Green for ITL
There is only one way to stop our state from getting suckered by this bad deal. There is only one way to keep phantom casino money out of the budget and to establish a strong budget negotiating position for the House. Show up this coming Wednesday and vote to support the joint committee's ITL recommendation by pressing the GREEN button.
Thank you for your consideration,
Thank you for your service,
Jim Rubens
Chair GSCAEG
