(TRENTON) – Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland) released the following statement Monday after the governor vetoed his legislation (A-4187) to disqualify a casino license applicant for five-years if the person closed a casino property in state:
“This veto is unsettling. We want businesses to come to and we want casino gaming to flourish in Atlantic City, but we do not want casino license holders who toy with the system and harm workers. With this veto, that toying and harming is exactly what will be allowed. Very concerning.
“Our goal here was simple – prevent casino owners from manipulating the licensing system and abusing rank and file casino workers. Given Atlantic City’s struggles, the last thing we need is a casino owner taking advantage of bankruptcy laws and pocketing a license and stripping workers of benefits and wages.
“At the end of the day, this was designed to be a carrot, not a stick, by encouraging casino owners to remain open, rather than allowing them hold onto their license while they shut down and leave thousands of working class folks without a job.
“I truly hope other outside political circumstances didn’t lead to the decision to veto this bill, but I will continue to work on this concern in hopes of finding a solution.”
