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NJ Legislature Set to Discuss Governor’s Casino Plans

Posted on November 10th, 2010

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With everybody knowing which position is occupied by who after the November 2 elections, legislators of the state of New Jersey are now gearing for action with regard to bills that need to be prioritized. First on the agenda is the preparation to set the proposal of Governor Chris Christie into motion. The governor’s plan to overhaul the regulations of Atlantic City has been made public since August. With the legislature now complete, they should already be enacting the plan as soon as possible. However, one local legislator is calling on his colleagues to exercise caution.

State Senator Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic) said that the deregulation plan championed by the governor may be presented for committee hearings within the coming week. Senator Whelan, the chairman of the Senate Committee on State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation, said that the governor’s proposal may be up for discussion on the 15th. Should the bill gain the approval of the committee that Whelan chairs, the full Senate should be having it on their tables by November 22. Meanwhile, the Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee, with its Republican members said they are expecting for the legislation to be taken up by their committee soon, although there are no set dates for those meetings yet.

Significant changes to casino regulations have been on the top of the priorities of the governor’s staff, who have been working at it for months. They have produced a draft plan consisting of 200 pages, with rewritten portions of the Casino Control Act. Among their suggestions would be to limit the Casino Control Commission’s roles to licensing of casinos. The new plan is suggesting that the role of casino regulation would be done by the Division of Gaming Enforcement, or DGE. The DGE is currently tasked to investigating and enforcing the gaming regulations of the state.

Another change the new bill is proposing is for the elimination of the requirement of state prosecutors to be present in casinos all the time. They are projecting that with state inspectors not present in the facilities so often, less money would be needed to pay them, and these savings could be utilized to further the development and promotion of the city’s casino zone. As for the senate and Whelan in particular, he would prefer for the bill to be passed by them even before the Thanksgiving holiday. He said, “They haven’t been introduced yet, but when they are, they’re a priority.” His committee, meanwhile, delayed action on a bill forwarded by Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Salem, Gloucester, Cumberland) about changes at the DGE which may cause savings and more efficiency in its operations.

Sweeney’s bill suggests that two portions of the agency be privatized. These divisions include the DGE labs, which are for testing slot machines before they get cleared for casino floors and the fingerprinting labs that keep records of all casino employees and applicants. Moreover, Sweeney is suggesting that the DGE offices be moved from its current Trenton location to Atlantic City. To answer speculations of what will happen to the bill, Whelan said, “The bill that got pulled off today related to casino gambling will be incorporated into the broader bill the governor has proposed.”

Whelan’s remark may be a sign that both him and Sweeney and Whelan will not be causes of delay with regard to the governor’s bill. On the contrary, they may seem to add inputs into the proposal. On the other hand, state Sen. Jeff Van Drew, (D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic) is warning his colleagues not to leave caution behind as he raised concerns about reorganizing regulations within the Casino Control Act. He explained that he has five concerns regardiong the bill. He said, “The first is keeping the integrity of the system, which for so long has been a model for the rest of the country on how to run casinos. Then there’s the fiscal concern. I realize we have to save money, But I do wonder why we’re cutting from the CCC when historically, the DGE has taken more raises, kept more vehicles and taken more trips, while the CCC has been making cuts for years, as far as I can see.” Van Drew also said that he is concerned about casino inspectors losing their jobs because of this move.