On Wednesday, top lawmakers in Massachusetts said that debate on casino legislation will be delayed until September. In a joint statement, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray said that they need more time and will not begin debating gambling expansion until after Labor Day.

Lawmakers were unable to get a deal done last year because DeLeo and Murray wanted gambling expansion that included adding slots to racetracks. Governor Deval Patrick, however, opposed that idea and only wanted to allow casino construction. When the legislature gave him a bill that included both, he sent it back and the bill died. This year, lawmakers are trying again and DeLeo had said that he hoped to pass the bill by the end of July.

Now, however, both the House Speaker and Senate President say they need more time to write the bill and get a response from the public before they can vote on it. The debate will be pushed back to at least the middle of September, in part because there are many more important bills under consideration as well. According to the Associated Press, that includes legislation overhauling the state’s court system as well as a bill that would make human trafficking a crime.

Whoa, wait a second. Human trafficking is not a crime already in Massachusetts? Okay, I agree. They need to pass that bill right away. That’s more of a priority than casino expansion.

The Joint Committee on Economic Development will continue to review gambling legislation prior to that, but the full House and Senate will not do so until after Labor Day, allowing more time to craft the bill and let the public read it and react.

Tags: gambling regulation, Massachusetts gambling, Robert DeLeo

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