Massachusetts speaker of the House Bob Deleo says lawmakers would have to patch a multi-million dollar hole in the state budget if voters choose to repeal the casino law in November.
“We would have to make some difficult decisions in terms of cuts. That’s one of the issues I thought about this morning actually,” DeLeo told reporters Wednesday.
The state is banking on $54 million in casino licensing fees and $20 million in slot parlor money in the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
“We’ve already started to use it and depend upon it.”
Deleo helped write the casino bill in 2011 and ushered it through the Legislature. He says he’ll be advocating on behalf of keeping the law ahead of election day.
