Senate approves bill seeking study of eastern Connecticut employment transition
A bill calling for a study of casino job losses’ effect on eastern Connecticut employment won the state Senate’s backing late Wednesday night.
The measure passed, 35-0, with one senator absent.
It would require the Department of Economic and Community Development, in consultation with the Department of Labor, to analyze the impact job losses at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun have had on the region’s workforce and to evaluate how former casino employees can transition into jobs in other industry sectors, “including, but not limited to, the advanced manufacturing and health care fields.”
Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, co-sponsored the bill along with Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville.
“The economy of eastern Connecticut has changed radically in the last decade, especially the portion of our region which relies on the casinos for employment,” Osten said after the vote. “I am doing everything I can to ensure that we protect the jobs and revenue that the casinos currently provide, but I believe this legislation will truly help to determine where we should be directing our efforts when it comes to new and different industries and employment opportunities for our residents.”
Since 2008, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun have eliminated thousands of jobs due to the Great Recession and growing competition in the Northeast. Casinos authorized but not yet open in Massachusetts and New York have raised the specter of a new wave of Connecticut job reductions.
The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes that own Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, respectively, are jointly pursuing a third Connecticut casino in the Hartford area to counter the impact of a Massachusetts resort casino under construction in Springfield. But even a Hartford-area casino will have some effect on the existing ones in southeastern Connecticut.
John Beauregard, executive director of the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board, testified in favor of the bill during a March hearing, calling it "a proactive and needed response to anticipated economic impacts in our region due to arrive over the next several years.”
Beauregard pointed out that southeastern Connecticut has experienced the slowest jobs recovery of any region in the state, having regained only 11 percent of its peak employment level over the last eight years. Most of the job losses occurred in the government sector, which includes the tribal casinos.
“As we look forward, the increased competition in the gaming sector will put further pressure on employment levels at these casinos and consequently our region,” Beauregard said. “The impact may come from neighboring states, a third casino in Connecticut, or both. Under any scenario, the job market in eastern Connecticut will be impacted.”
The bill, which moves to the House of Representatives for consideration, involves no cost.
“It is anticipated that DECD can complete this report with existing resources,” the Office of Fiscal Analysis found. “As the economic development agency for the state, DECD currently has the resources and expertise to conduct this research."
The DECD’s report would have to be submitted by Jan. 1, 2017.
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