EDITORIAL: State needs casino plan for North Jersey
Sweeney's referendum idea is flawed, but it's on the right track
EDITORIAL: State needs casino plan for North Jersey Sweeney's referendum idea is flawed, but it's on the right track Check out this story on app.com: http://on.app.com/1QHIbQW
Published 4:42 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2015 | Updated 5:00 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2015
Sweeney's proposal to hold a statewide referendum on allowing two casinos in North Jersey is flawed, but it's on the right track.(Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Senate President Stephen Sweeney seems to be in a "We the People" mood of late with plans to toss some tough decisions into the laps of voters.
Last week we raised concerns about a proposed constitutional amendment that would mandate full annual payments by the state into the pension system without doing much of anything to address actual pension costs and the state's ability to afford those payments.
We are, however, far more supportive of another Sweeney plan announced last week, in which voters would be asked to clear the way for two new casinos to be developed in North Jersey.
Expanding gambling — and gambling revenue — in other parts of the state outside Atlantic City is long overdue, and represents a reasonable adaptation to the modern environment in which Atlantic City's eastern monopoly on legalized gambling is a distant memory. The demise of so many of the city's casinos only reinforces the need for change.
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LEVINSON: North Jersey casinos would devastate Atlantic City
What has not changed, however, is resistance from South Jersey legislators who continue to behave as if the rest of New Jersey has an obligation to preserve Atlantic City's control of gambling interests within the state, even as competition continues to flourish beyond our borders.
That's antiquated thinking, and Sweeney's plan might be a welcome shift into the 21st century. But as always, there are devils in the details. Sweeney is a South Jersey guy himself, and in the past has balked at the prospect of North Jersey competition for Atlantic City. But with all signs pointing to a gubernatorial run in 2017, Sweeney has a broader constituency to court, hence a more open mind to North Jersey desires.
But Sweeney isn't forgetting his roots. The referendum would seek a constitutional amendment for two North Jersey casinos — in separate counties, and at least 75 miles from Atlantic City — and proposes that nearly half the revenue from the casinos go to Atlantic City for 15 years.
EDITORIAL: Let voters decide on Meadowlands casino
While we agree with the logic of incorporating some assistance for the struggling city into a plan for new casinos, that assistance seems excessive.
Sweeney's resolution would require a three-fifths vote in both the Senate and Assembly to get on the ballot, and that seems unlikely in its present form, especially in the Assembly. South Jersey reps won't be enthusiastic, and while there are plenty of North Jersey supporters for casinos in their region, they may be resistant to some specifics in Sweeney's plan.
But if nothing else this will ideally lay some constructive groundwork to eventually bring casinos to North Jersey. We should be long past debating about criminal elements and the morality of gambling, or about feeding gambling addictions that already have countless outlets. This is most of all an economic issue, and done right, North Jersey casinos can enhance state revenue and boost Atlantic City's gambling industry that is already on its knees fighting off competition from other states.
Meadowlands casino proposal stalls
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