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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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House
Democratic Caucus |
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Pa. House and Senate leaders reach consensus on bill to reform, expand gaming
HARRISBURG, Jan. 4 – Legislative leaders in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate today reached a consensus regarding legislation that would allow the state’s casinos to offer table games, and simultaneously strengthen and reform oversight of the industry.
The House and Senate had each passed a different version of the gaming bill, S.B. 711, in December. Leaders from both chambers have been engaged in ongoing discussions over the three weeks since then to resolve the differences between the two versions of the bill.
Leaders concluded the discussions via conference call this afternoon, and the result was a consensus between the two chambers. Details of the consensus legislation will be shared with the members of the House upon their return to Harrisburg tomorrow.
House Speaker Keith R. McCall, D-Carbon; Majority Leader Todd A. Eachus, D-Luzerne; and Appropriations Committee Chairman Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, said they are hopeful the consensus between the legislative leaders can be passed through both chambers quickly and moved to Gov. Ed Rendell’s desk for his signature.
"We were never all that far apart in our positions, so it was just a matter of ironing out those specific areas where we had clear differences," McCall said. "We have been talking with our colleagues in the Senate for weeks now, and those discussions have yielded what I believe to be a fair and smart compromise that allows us to bridge the remaining budget gap and create thousands of new jobs with family-sustaining wages for Pennsylvania workers."
"This is what we were sent to Harrisburg to do," Eachus said. "We’re providing more stringent oversight and reform for an important new industry in our commonwealth, while at the same time creating jobs and spurring economic development. We’ll be discussing the details of the consensus legislation with our members, and I’m hopeful we’ll be able to move a compromise bill through both chambers quickly in the coming days."
"This is good public policy, because it meets three key objectives for Pennsylvania," Evans said. "Foremost, it provides jobs – thousands of jobs. It will help us meet our budget obligations, and finally it will help the state move into the future financially."
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Contact:
Brett Marcy, Director of Communications Bob Caton, Press Secretary Johnna Pro, Press Secretary
Office of the House Majority Leader Office of the Speaker House Appropriations Committee
717-787-4819 717-783-1375 717-783-8024
bmarcy@pahouse.net bcaton@pahouse.net japro@pahouse.net