Assembly Appropriations Committee to hold hearing Monday on casino PILOT Bill

TRENTON — The Assembly version of the bill to amend the casino payment-in-lieu of taxes arrangement in Atlantic City will be considered in the Appropriations committee on Monday, setting up the potential that a bill will be passed in the lame duck session and signed quickly by the governor.

The bill (A5587) was quietly moved from the State and Local Government committee, where it had sat after introduction in May and where it has remained unconsidered for months.

A5587, like the Senate version (S4007), removes sports and internet gaming from gaming revenues in the PILOT calculation.

But A5587 sets the base 2022 PILOT payment at $125 million, which is $15 million higher than the base payment in the proposed Senate bill.

The last pre-pandemic basic PILOT payment, however, made in 2020 based on 2019 revenues, was $150 million. And the Office of Legislative Services estimated casinos would owe $165 million in 2022 under existing law, based on 2021 revenues, which had greatly rebounded.

The Senate version, sponsored by state Sen. President Steve Sweeney, passed the Senate Budget and Appropriations committee on Dec. 6, after Sweeney told the committee four casinos were in danger of closing without the legislation.