Rhode Island Senate Finance Committee members pressed the Raimondo administration Tuesday night on whether the stated benefits of a proposed 20-year $1 billion contract for IGT Global Solutions are spelled out in legislation.
Finance Chairman William Conley (D-East Providence) noted, for example, how the bill for the extension calls for the company to have a “substantial presence” in Rhode Island. While IGT has an iconic building in downtown Providence, Conley said a promised headquarters presence should be made more explicit.
IGT supporters say the no-bid extension will result in a slight increase in local jobs, to 1,100, with average salaries of $100,000. Conley pointed to how the legislation for the deal refers only to lower-level jobs that would pay at least 150 percent of minimum wage.
While those jobs have value, Conley said, “They’re not economic development jobs and they are not the jobs that have been identified in the public discussion leading up to this hearing. We need to work on that that. 150 percent of minimum wage based on statutory definition is inadequate based on every senator you’ve heard address that question in this committee.”
Kevin Gallagher, senior deputy chief of staff for Governor Gina Raimondo, responded by expressing confidence that the concerns cited by Conley and other senators can be easily addressed.
Raimondo brought her own dire message to an hours-long hearing in the Finance Committee, warning of negative effects for the state if lawmakers open the competition to run the Lottery and supply most of the video slots to Twin River’s partnership with Camelot Lottery Systems.
“We’re going to lose a lot of jobs, a lot of economic momentum and face risk of changing vendors,” Raimondo said. “And I think it would be terrible also to consider giving this business that has no track record in doing this.”
The Finance hearing was the second of five being held by the committee on the IGT proposal. The House of Representatives is set to hold its second and final hearing on the issue Thursday afternoon, with testimony from IGT, Twin River-Camelot and the public.
(Disclosure: The Public’s Radio gets some financial support from IGT.)
