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Massachusetts governor budget challenges lawmakers21 January 2008MASSACHUSETTS -- As reported by the Boston Globe: "In a challenge to lawmakers to accept his plans to expand gambling, Governor Deval L. Patrick will propose using $124 million of the $300 million that he said could be generated from casino licensing fees to cover a local aid shortfall. "Leslie Kirwan, the state's secretary of Administration and Finance, said yesterday that Patrick has decided against a plan to use the entire $300 million to help close a huge budget deficit and pay for some of his expanded programs and initiatives. "... She said the $124 million would make up the projected shortfall in the State Lottery, the major source of local aid to already financially strapped cities and towns, and would not be part of the budget's balance sheet. The municipalities had been relying on projections from last year that the Lottery would generate $935 million, but that has been reduced to $811 million. "...Still, as part of his move to pressure lawmakers to act on his proposal to license three resort casinos in Massachusetts, Patrick plans to dangle the prospect of $300 million in new revenues before the Legislature as it grapples with a $1.3 billion budget gap..." |