Touted as a way of saving Atlantic City as it reeled from the closing of four casinos last year, a five-bill package of aid for the city has been floundering in the state legislature for about six months.
Finally, the bills may get a vote this month.
Atlantic County Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo—a sponsor of the bills—told the Associated Press that the legislation will get a vote on June 11 in the state Assembly and on June 25 in the state Senate. Mazzeo said with the state’s fiscal year ending June 30, the bills could no longer be delayed.
The five-bill package includes a casino payment-in-lieu of taxes plan that lawmakers hope will stabilize the city’s revenue after numerous appeals have been filed—and several won—by city casinos. Under the plan, the casinos cumulatively would pay $150 million annually for two years and then $120 million a year for the next 13 years.
“We all know the problems facing Atlantic City,” Mazzeo, told the Press of Atlantic City. “Over the next few weeks, we’ll take the next steps towards stabilizing the tax base in Atlantic City—an effort that will benefit the entirety of Atlantic County.”
The bills were introduced last year, but lawmakers balked at advancing them without a clear endorsement from Governor Chris Christie. The governor still has not said whether or not he will sign the bills.
Earlier this year, Christie appointed a team of emergency managers to help guide the city’s finances and has said wants to combine the legislature’s proposal with that of the emergency managers.
“The governor continues to believe legislative action must be part of our holistic approach to stabilizing Atlantic City, and he looks forward to reviewing the legislation currently being advanced as soon as the legislature sends it to his desk,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
The package also includes provisions to reallocate a tax on casino gambling revenues to Atlantic City for debt payments. Another authorizes state aid to the city’s schools. Another requires casinos to provide certain workers with health and retirement benefits, and the fifth would end the Atlantic City Alliance, the town’s casino-funded marketing arm.
