Politicians in New Hampshire are again ramping up to fight over whether to allow a casino in the Granite State.
Governor Maggie Hassan, who supported authorizing a casino last year so strongly that she included the anticipated $80 million revenues in the biennial budget even though the legislature hadn’t yet voted on it, is considering doing the same thing for the upcoming year.
This was a controversial move in 2013, and is likely to be again.
Last year the vote for a casino was close in the Senate, 173-172, but failed substantially in the Assembly.
The governor’s office issued the following statement: “Whether or not licensing revenue from one casino is included in her proposal, Gov. Hassan continues to believe that moving forward with New Hampshire’s own plan for one highly regulated destination casino is the right step for keeping revenue in New Hampshire that we can use to invest in the priorities that are critical for long-term economic success.”
Charles Arlinghaus, president of the Josiah Barlett Center for Public Policy, a think tank, called last year’s action by Hassan, “just plain silly,” and added, “It’s not credible, but it’s easy. And some politicians prefer easy to credible.”
The issue of a casino in the state has been debated for most of the last decade. Support for it is bipartisan, with Senator Lou D’Allesandro, a Democrat, and Rep. Joe Sweeney, a Republican, both pushing hard for a bill.
On the other hand, the newly elected House Speaker, Shawn Jasper, voted against last year’s bill. Senate President Charles Morse is a supporter of the bill.
