Sen. Farnese's Statement on the Passage of Senate Bill 711
Senate Bill 711 includes many good reforms such as ending campaign contributions from casino owners and giving voice to casino communities by requiring public hearings when a casino redesigns or relocates,” Farnese said.
“However, I voted against the bill because of many troubling and bad provisions. First, the bill does not provide a dedicated local share of money directly to the neighborhoods bearing the brunt of casino development. No other city in Pennsylvania has casinos so close to neighborhoods as does Philadelphia. A dedicated and recurrent source of revenue would have been a tremendous benefit to casino neighborhoods by addressing citywide impacts of casinos such as education, crime, and health care.
I also opposed the provision that allows Foxwoods to apply for an extension to delay opening the casino until December 2012. I see no reason to continue to back this operator when it has shown no evidence of an ability to move forward with this project.”