at we're doing and we've done For licensing of employees well over 8,000 of these so once you start narrowing the funnel um I would expect the situation where you're going to have this would be very very few and far between and the Situation where it would potentially impact a decision on licensing even fewer So we're talking about probably a handful of cases. We just You know, these are these are people that you know that we're dealing with in their lives and their livelihood So we want to make sure that we're doing what the commission's Directive is so that we don't have to get up to an appeal before we understand what we should have been doing so that's why I appreciate that I think just to emphasize again To what we're looking for today is Perhaps you would like some direction not necessarily to resolve the underlying policy question But some direction as to next steps and I'm not cutting off the discussion But I do want to emphasize that it that rather than the sealed record Uh, it is this dilemma that we have such Open market on information now You know, it's not in our headlines every day And so the same thing and I think uh commissioner Cameron's example is it's very real the small town police log could have Information about the arrest and not the conviction that would have been sealed So you'd have to so we'd prefer it be consistent that People are treated the same what uh, so based based on what I'm hearing what my suggestion would be now is that This isn't necessarily an easy answer and we've been thinking about this for months as we prepared the memo and did research so You know, given this is the first time you've had an opportunity to think about it My suggestion is, you know, look at look at the look at the hypos, you know individually come and talk to either Todd Loretto You know Jill or myself and we should also listen to the comments from the public and see what their what their input is on that And in the meantime staff can see if we can come up with any other Other options besides the two extremes if there's any intermediate options And then we can circle back at either probably the next meeting and then sort of narrow in on the issue and see if there's We can get some more clarity if that seems like a good plan So is the distinction seem to be here the difference between information and records If I can jump in it might be helpful to think about it as the agency that seals the records Only has the authority to seal the court records the agency can't tell the media There's an article, you know dressing that you take that off the internet or so it's it's The you know the the reg Talks for adults talks about may not consider The sealed records So the question is out there what happens when there's information that we get outside of the record And to just clarify one point with respect to the conviction Even if we had information from the media an applicant a witness that there was a Quote conviction We would not consider the conviction Because there really it is no way to fully establish that without the court record So we're not talking about an automatic disqualifier for a conviction in any regard But you would be considering it which is what this regulation I would say I would differentiate it between The fact that someone was convicted of a crime versus The actual underlying conduct So the and and they are they are different now. They're obviously interrelated So because of that you may have a policy perspective on that, but that's the distinction You know so well And to clarify because I'm I'm hearing uh commissioner soon soon it goes angst Because you're interpreting it a certain way That doesn't mean that With in our next Few commission meetings. It might not end up being just clarified that we would keep out not only the Sealed record conviction, but also the information because it may Just seem almost unrealistic if you're thinking about the of rest for shoplifting And that has been sealed because of the conviction How can you actually consider the article that said they were arrested? And and feel that we haven't achieved the underlying policy But I'm also hearing that it may be an assessment of risk that we might want to engage in Um, perhaps as the the licensing goes higher up the And so that might be there might be room Because we're looking at this To maybe clarify But the reality is is right now. We're not saying we don't agree on On any particular policy position. I think we're saying we'd like to explore this further That's what you're looking for. Yeah, which I which I think is is reasonable I mean we've been thinking for a for a long time and it's it's a tricky issue in But we need a clear answer And and and in terms of today's discussion again, I'm sorry I didn't mean to cut you off one thing that we wouldn't have if we really fleshed out all of our positions I just want to be clear. We have not started to collect in any of the public Right input and that's another piece. I'd love clarification on how you plan to do that. Okay. Yeah And I think that's important. We should understand how this affects Absolutely, by the way, I should I should mention that I fully recognize The scenario in which this consideration could be positive for for the applicant if you if you if you if you come into ways Into additional information Maybe from the applicant themselves and that that's something that that's actually a good point because These suitability investigations are a predictive analysis And sometimes when you know, we see even if someone's got some baggage or something that they they've have in their past Investigators when people are forthright and honest and talk to Investigators truthfully, that's a win for their in their column. So it's not necessarily because we found this out Oh, that's necessarily bad for you. It can actually be good to mr. To mr. Zaniga's point I I think I'm sorry. Go ahead. I think that's an important point, you know, we Going back to The early days even before opening of these casinos, right? We were constantly trying to address the issue of how can people who would Maybe not found themselves suitable to get into some of these positions take proactive steps to Position themselves better for a job We obviously made the changes in the law for the ser exemptions I know a number of the groups that have probably been in touch with jill have been communicating How someone can go about and get their their record sealed So I know probably jill can take some of this information Share this now public memo to get feedback from those appropriate groups But I continue to think in the bigger context of how do we again kind of Communicate the sound in terms of You know, I think to the point commissioner zuniga and karen. You were just making you have a seal record, but you're Your honesty and kind of forthrightness with an investigator to Share that information, you know helps in the suitability process or helps in the licensing process. So You know getting a policy answer on this I think is helpful And I appreciate the the comments of my colleagues who have been in the law enforcement field But kind of thinking through all of the ancillary issues that might come with that IEB's approach helpful suggestions again as we always try to refine them through FAQs or something for the actual applicant So I think I think it's it's bigger than just making this issue You know solving this question for your investigators, but let's look at it It's in kind of its entirety and figure out how we can come up with a solution I do think it would be helpful also moving forward to have a little more of an explanation For everyone on the commission that there is a distinction between substance and process expungement versus sealing This deals with sealing and I do think it would inform everybody's Views and information on this to understand that there's a distinction. There's a different process and standard that needs to be reached to expunge Versus sealing and I do think that that would help clarify the discussion There is there is a good note on page three which is helpful The consequences but not the actual process that are distinct Well, I I would like to hear from You know the workforce development world I know we had a In the state a big recent quarry reform and some of the discussions were all around one of you know some of the The reasons for for that reform were about also a second chances for people I think that ultimately factors in here. I know the The licensing of a of an employee A casino perhaps is a bigger threshold In you know compared to other employment And I also would like to us to think about maybe this is something that we could tear Uh because it affects it could potentially affect you know different people in different ways You know being a porter at a casino might be very different from Because you touch the casino floor you still requires a registration, right? Maybe very different from somebody who's extending credit, let's say and an information about them Goes directly to that. There's there's other pieces of the of our regs That I think gonna bring in a little bit here And and and you know that is those tiered Assumptions But also how some of this information is to be viewed I remember one that was recent the the the subject of a recent appeal And that is relative to how Matters should be viewed in the most favorable way to the applicant Um, you know, and and I think that also factors in so I I'm okay with you know hearing more And maybe you know thinking of ways in which maybe we need to clarify This regulation if that's what's required I would want I would add on to that. I don't want us to wait too long I mean, I think we've been lucky that we haven't had it right pop up, but let's not I'm the risk of that happening right and you know also encourage You know the groups that You know chill will be reaching out to to Again remind somebody who thinks their record may be sealed and it is not and that Could trip that individual up as they get into the licensing registration process And the law is if they do not have to put it on their application if it's sealed We will be following the law so You can reiterate that so people aren't doing something wrong if they don't speak about it That's the law is that they are not required to to disclose it And that's part of what I would like to kind of understand from what maybe those discussions on corollary reform work It just feels that you know, there's now so much more social media, you know the opportunity Maybe that's the wrong word The the The occasion for a lot of information to be just simply out there and never go away Given the recent, you know, the world that we live in now Should also be factored in I think there's a real reality in you know, which is what I what I would go back to the Considering it rather than the means of obtaining the information But let's let's see what we can hear from So we'll move forward with that plan and we'll put that on the next agenda. Hopefully and it sounds like what I'm hearing from Really from all of us is it probably and as I think you're anticipating Once we get input In the public in in light of some of the things we've touched on just You know really low level to give us perhaps options to help. Okay. Does that make sense? To give us options for us to further clarify our discussion again Without necessarily making a formal recommendation But the but one of the options is definitely If this is less than clear, we could amend the regular Okay, thank you very much Thanks for bringing it to our attention Moving on to item number six, uh, Derek and Agnes and Doug, please Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Madam chair and commissioners. Good afternoon I we realize we're separating everyone Between their lunches, so we'll try to get through this rather quickly. Um, it is somewhat Non-controversial we have all the time in the world I look forward to it I'm joined by Agnes and Doug and we here to provide you with the first quarterly budget update for fiscal year 2020 and then Agnes will give an update on our vendor diversity spend Um Massachusetts gaming commission approved a f y 20 budget for the game and control fund of 34.2 million dollars Composed of both regulatory costs And statutorily required costs for the first time the entire research and responsible gaming budget is funded from the public health trust fund Um and licensees were assessed to combine 34.8 million dollars for both the game and control fund and the public health trust fund That that assessment to the for the public health trust fund being for the first time The initial f y 20 budget contained two possible Spending exposures first the minimum required for the mgc's insurance policy was funded in the litigation budget and now it's about 400 000 Second the f y 20 funding level included a 25 increase of public safety overtime to account for the opening Of um on core boston harbour. However, I want to note that it was half of the amount that was it was requested by um the i e b And in my opinion When we funded it at half of that amount it was a bit of an aspirational goal So he had a report to you that through the first three months of f y 20 the overtime Um for the gaming enforcement unit has spent approximately 47 of its total budget And additionally the legal department has spent 72 of its litigation budget So both of those areas that were exposures continue to be an exposure um The f y 20 revenue for the game and control fund relies on fees from licensing and slot machines And an assessment on licensees Licensee fees appear to be on pace As was shown in attachment a to exceed initial projections for f y 20 In addition in late october the mgc received approximately 449 000 and final payments related to the ongoing Winsuitability investigation that was completed last fiscal year Uh important distinction the comworld works on a modified cash basis of accounting So while those fees were incurred last year the revenue for when we bill them is actually Recognized in this year. So we are up 449 000 of revenue from our initial projections based on that um The mgc also had a surplus of 1.44 million in f y 19 revenue Which will be used based on our regulations to offset the licensee's f y 20 assessments as shown on page two of the memorandum In summary staff will continue to monitor all spending and revenue activity with attention specifically to litigation and the g u uh overtime costs Um, and then the balance forward of 1.44 million in f y 19 excess revenues result in a decreased licensee's Assessments staff is not recommending any changes at this time To the budget due to the fact that it's only the first quarter And with the the 449 000 coming through The timing of it for the windsuitability it's in place to offset any any Additional costs that we may see prior to our mid-year update That if you have any questions, yeah, I would really like to understand better those overtime costs With the gaming enforcement unit. So I think I'll be It sounds like you've had some a lot of direct conversations about that or We've had we've had some direct conversations with the gaming enforcement unit about this As you knew they asked for a $500,000 increase to the budget For f y 50 f y 20. We gave 250,000 The overtime alone at On to a boston harbors already exceeded that 250,000 There is a piece of it that has to do with a discussion of the nightclub So there's some costs directly those are the things I want to understand because it could be that We asked the nightclub to do things differently rather than Correct just continually That's that's not going to make up the difference. I understand that. I understand that's one component But I just want to understand better. Are there staffing levels? At the right level because you know if you're constantly giving overtime you may not be staffing properly So which is a cost-saver? Correct because the amount you'd pay what we've charged out there right now and overtime could have paid for three Well, that's what I need to understand and what the policy considerations are about around granting overtime. So I'll be taking a closer look at And I was going to turn a treasurer in your treasurer capacity and and the executive director could we do some kind of a subset further Deeper dive into this issue and get so I I think um commissioner Details. Mm-hmm. You know as they distinguish it from overtime. Yes at memoir Might be a big driver. We probably need to look a little closer at that which sort of prohibit the additional person because it's such a targeted Need I guess and I think that's another subject You raise the issue about what is the responsibility of the licensee or the sub licensee I think that's a that's an actual conversation We need to have And I I actually like clarity on that point because I've heard varying reports as to whether the night club is Assuming full responsibility or sharing it and so Or not or or not sharing. I've I've heard varying reports So how would you well, it's certainly something that we can we can look at, uh, you know, we we should I I I suggest we don't um Form a subcommittee No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm wondering if no a sub meaning a sub But I report. Yes. And get with a deeper dive on this issue and have um Derek come back So we've done a pretty deep dive on this agnes keeps track of these Regularly, I can I can tell you I think through October it was about 345 No through september it was about 345,000 Nova time spending out there which 72,000 was related to the details that state police only we get billed separately for the For the city of everett everett piece of it that goes into it So, you know, you're looking about 72,000 But what we are looking at is a similar situation that we face in springfield Where you set into a staffing number That was approved at the beginning and is that staffing number right? If you remember last year, we came back at the mid-year review and we added two troopers as well as one Springfield police officer to help cut down on the overtime. We've seen overtime at on co at um mgm state pretty consistent based on those increased staffing levels They've actually cut it down, you know to where we where we hoped it would be so there is that idea of Do they need extra bodies and the staffing level just wasn't right? Because if you remember we drilled them hard on getting those staffing levels down at the beginning For these mo use. Well and a big part of that is data driven. Correct. Your deployments don't have to all be the same You don't want the same number of people Tuesday daytime as you want Friday night. Correct. So We understand that better that how they're how they're doing that and So I'll take a closer look. Yeah. Thank you Yeah, I may there's a factor just may perhaps to summarize your prior point. There's a factor of just Finding the right balance or you know, maybe another way to think about it is the growing pain of you know arriving at a steady state like what we saw in mgm is now Happening at at anchor But I do also the flip side of that is I I think, you know, we're going to perhaps find that their operations are Different by its nature by its geography or because it's a bigger. There's a bigger here by the Sub licensees that we have, you know A memoir versus, you know, the common world power are not quite, you know, the same level of Of security and and I think we want to I want to make sure that my position is clear is that I was asking for clarity around Over time as opposed to our licensees judgment on the number of The they're they're the amount of the security that they're providing In other words, I wouldn't want the message to be we're concerned about costs that we want them to do less I want to understand how they're paying Um, and I think that Commissioner Cameron, I think that was really what you're wondering about the overtime, correct Yes, but but overtime leads to staffing Which leads to What drives the overtime what occurrences the data? What does the data show us? So it is It's all of those things Lead to the overtime. So we just have to understand the balance better correct same conversation We had last year. Yes, we'll have the same deep dive going to do you need everyone there tuesday at 4 p.m Yeah And can that be reported back to the commission as a whole is what i'm asking Yes, we'll put that on the thank you. Thank you Can I only can I speak quickly to the other point about? The legal costs. I think we are just Doing what we've been doing in the past keeping with the past practice This was something we discussed with like new staff discussed with licensees and they agreed on the approach if Because there is so much Variability or so it's so hard to predict the amount of legal fees We budget one amount and you know Come back and correct as as a year goes by As for budget revisions As a year goes by so I think I think it's prudent. There's You know some recent decisions about some of these litigation some of other cases will will continue and we'll just continue In the same way that we've been doing Budgeting and revising as needed right And I just want to say thank you to the team up here for making it easy as well as all the directors and staff who Continue to have their monthly meetings with agnes so that when we come up and do these reports They can be as clear and concise as possible Thank you. Thank you excellent job Good afternoon chair and commissioners in your packets today You have the supply or diversity benchmarks for the massachusetts gaming commission's total spending for f y 19 And for the first quarter of f y 20 In f y 19 we surpassed our benchmark for the small businesses and the minority owned business Totals We did that substantially in both categories We attained an 85 percent Um Total of our women owned benchmark and once again only five percent of the disabled veterans benchmark Once again, we are working diligently on disabled veterans with our office supplies To get that up this year As well as our women owned businesses These these categories remain a challenge for us for the first quarter of f y 20 We have already reached the goal for the small business benchmark We've currently committed 54 percent of the women owned business benchmark and 27 percent for the minority owned businesses We do have several upcoming contracts that will increase these commitments And many of those contracts have vendor commitments for indirect spending that we will be counting on in our numbers as well While these categories remain a challenge We have Engaged the services of a vendor vera cloud Who you'll be hearing from at the next commission meeting to review our procurements into reaching out to potential vendors for responses Thank you This is great work. Uh, and I know vera cloud that you mentioned has has been Really helpful in this effort Did we talk about an agenda setting that whether we would come and showcase them in some way or to explain what they do in further detail Yes, they were supposed to be at this meeting to kind of help them because we never let just like our licensees We don't like missing benchmarks. Um, we take it very seriously We don't like missing goals. Um, when we set our goals While they may be aspirational we still work hard to get there So we wanted vera cloud here to give the presentation on What we've engaged them to do some of the things we've done on our procurements as far as subcontracting The vendor spends the requirements by putting the percentage up in the scoring categories for because Look, we we put our best efforts forward. We keep missing a we keep missing benchmarks. So It's not okay to keep doing that. So we've engaged people who are better at this than we are To try and come in and help us meet these and figure out maybe they're just not a world of vendors out there And if there aren't how do we get them in? How do we engage them more? And one of their big goals is inclusion, right? They want to make people even though we may not Win the bid or that that person may not win the bid. We want everyone to be included We want to know the full marketplace when we're making our decisions It's with the idea of have we reached out to everyone and do we have the best foot forward and can we then Sit with these vendors and help them What agnes is talking about with the office supplies that person's not not even not even on a statewide contract We we found them through the licensees bringing them forward. Um, and we have gradually Hopefully helped them to get established in the marketplace by giving them opportunities where we even spend a little extra on their supplies To build the pipeline. So if we bought from wb mason, we'd be spending less on our vendor I know our licensees probably don't want to hear that but we'd be spending less on office supplies But by going this way, we're hoping to help grow the pipeline and we're looking for that in other areas Where it might might not be obvious and that's where vera cloud teaming with our licensing division and teaming with our licensees have helped us So You got that to look forward to at the next meeting They were yes, they will be coming in. Yes. They had a conflict today a personal conflict so they couldn't make it Our genus shifted just up at last minute. Yep Thanks for that Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Y'all said I guess so Although we did um, I will add something we did change the uh methodology payments over the course of the past few months So it made things much easier for our accounting side We were using a third party to work with us on receivables Where they have been working on licensing payments And that was running fine, but then when we started working with the taxes We ran into a little glitch and it was uh, it turned into somewhat of an accounting nightmare So we went back to wiring and working directly with the licensees Were they paying on a Regular basis they're paying within the statute. They're paying within 24 hours. So that has certainly helped and it's running very smooth We keep it light and financing Thank you Thanks Our licensees might not be as happy about that change because they have to pay the seven dollar per Wire fee versus a 40 cents per transaction for an acage transaction However, the vendor we had engaged with can't handle our business So they came back to us and said if we are going to continue going down this path You can't you can no longer charge 40 cents. It's going to be 27 dollars per transaction That was quite a jump. So we went back. Yes. We went back to the fed wire process of seven dollars But we continued to work with our bank And with the state comptrols office to try and find a solution Where we can get back to a ch transactions the problem with a ch ch transactions are I think there's a 10 day window Where you can reverse it so So they were holding on to the payments for 10 days Then I would have to clear their bank account then get to our bank account Which takes another two business days and by the end of the month the comptrols was looking at us saying where's all the money that we need to transfer So that was kind of as Doug said a pure accounting nightmare But with the sophistic sophistication of banking In the new processes that are coming out. I'm sure you use them on your own Personal side zell where you can do thousands of dollars overnight through a ch transactions We're hopeful that within the next 24 to 48 months We'll be able to get rid of that seven dollar per transaction and get back down to closer to the 40 or 34 cent Transaction of an a ch But it is an added cost that our licensees have had to pick up But when we looked at the difference of 27 or 7 It's kind of an easy decision go back to fedwire. Don't use a third-party vendor that kind of gives you Handholds everyone through the process But that was a long discussion that Doug has worked through thank god once again It said I don't have to get involved in these. I have a great team up here That does this for for me get so I just have to make the decision 27 or 7 That was an easy decision But we're straight forward one We're still in the process of working with the bank to try to try to formulate a lower price On that so yeah, it's a work in progress Yeah, it is. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you so much So it is now 110 I guess that I'd hope maybe we get to the regulations But we probably need to take our lunch break And then we'll start in with legal and then move to uh, commissioner sunica Okay, so for those who Yeah, that's the only I will need to speak with jenice. Thanks. Okay Thank you So sorry, we'll reconvene and 140 Thank you We're reconvening meeting number 282 of the massachusetts gaming commission Thank you for those who have patiently waited the We'll start now with our legal team on regulations number eight Thank you, madam chair. Good afternoon Um Ms. Tariq's he's been lead counsel on this particular matter. I'd like to turn the presentation over to her if I may Good afternoon, madam chair and commissioners You have several regulations on the agenda today for a vote. Um, we're at the final stage of the promulgation process So Following vote today. We'll go ahead and file these with the secretary of state We did not receive any comments on any of these So this uh, there is one comment that I'll address that came from the iab, but otherwise these are exactly what you've seen before Uh, so I just want to address item d first that's section 138.05 We've found that we're not going to have you vote on this one today We found that when we were getting ready for today that um, this one had been left off of the notice of hearing So we just want to make sure that before we go on that this is properly noticed for a future hearing So we'll push this off to the next meeting. Um, but it was purely an administrative change. It's not substantive Which one was that it's item d 138.05 It's not in the motion that explains it There you go So item a relates to junkets. Um, this one includes sections 134.01 Which is the licensing regulation this change requires self-employed junket representatives to be licensed as gaming vendors uh And 134.06 which is our junket regulation that includes Licensing and other requirements for junkets This is the only rag that includes one change from the last time you've seen it. So the iab uh, recommended the one red line in there, which um Requires that license applications include proof that the junket operator has a business relationship with the gaming licensee And this is standard for all vendor applications Is it is it necessary to have that language? I mean it is a stimulation if you're going to go through our registration and licensing process You have to have that letter of business relationship That's what this would refer to okay Require that so that we don't go through a background review if the licensee has no intention of Having the arrangement with them, but that caught essentially codifies in the regulation that letter of intent. Okay And and the first one just clarifies That the junket representative is not employed by the gaming licensee Is that just it just creates that other classification of license for this self-employed junket regulator? representatives which was the group that wasn't already accounted for in the regulations because the the employees of our junket enterprise are They uh, I don't have that sheet with me, but they're they're already covered in that licensing reg And so are the enterprises and so are the reps that would work for A gaming licensee. So this was the only group that wasn't included Good good catch So if you don't have any other questions on those two, we'd be looking for Motions on the amended small business impact statement and then the regulations To move forward with the process Madam chair, I move that the commission approved the amended small business impact statement for 205 cmr 134.01 Key gaming employee licensees And 205 cmr 134.06 junket enterprises and junket representatives as included in the commissioner's packet second Any discussion questions edits All those in favor aye opposed Five zero, thank you Madam chair, I'd further move that the commission approved the version of 205 cmr 134.01 key gaming employee licensees In 205 cmr 134.06 junket enterprises and junket representatives as included in the commissioner's packet And authorize the staff to take all steps necessary to finalize the regulation promulgation process Second any questions Okay, all those in favor aye opposed five zero all right, so item b is section 133.05 the voluntary self exclusion list regulation This was a companion change to the junket regulations. This just is really just to notify People involved in the vse program that their information Would be given out on this aggregated no marketing list by the licensees and we're also updating the vse application So it will be on there as well. So they're acknowledging that they know that their information will be given out in that context And these um, this red line is what we've discussed in the past, right? This didn't come because of additional comments or considerations. Nope. It's the same Any any further questions for carrey? Do I have a motion? Madam chair, I move the commission approved the amended small business impacts team and for 205 cmr 133.05 Maintenance and custody of the list is included in the commissioner's packet second All those in favor aye opposed Five zero tot. Thank you Madam chair, I further move the commission approved the version of 205 cmr 133.05 Maintenance and custody of the list is included in the commissioner's packet and authorized staff to take all steps necessary to finalize the regulation promulgation process second Any discussion all those in favor aye opposed five zero All right, and then finally item c. Um, this is various sections of Section 134 and these are all administrative changes. None of these have changed since the last time that you saw them There is one thing I just want to point out the amended small business impact statement does reference Section 130805, which we've pulled out of today of the vote today. So Your vote would be contingent on removing the reference to Section 130805 that's in that amended small business impact statement That's the section the item d on the agenda that I spoke about first So the 205 cmr 138 that's in here. Oh five. Okay, so we'll just strike that zero that one. Yeah Go all the way right before the orange developer the small business No 13805 is streaking out, right? Right the reference small business impact is just 138. Yes. It doesn't have the 05 Any any reference to 138 in that one will come out and we'll bring it back in a future meeting So it will just be for uh 134 134 only. Okay. Okay Thank you. Any any questions for cary? Do I have a motion? Madam chair, I move the commission approved the amended small business impact statement for 205 cmr 134 specifically sections 134.07 134.09 134.10 134.11 134.13 and 134.14 licensing and registration of employees vendors junket enterprises and representatives and labor organizations Is included in the commissioner's packet All those in favor Opposed five zero Madam chair, I further move the commission approved the version of 205 cmr 134 Specifically sections 134.07 134.09 134.10 134.11 134.13 134.14 Licensing and registration of employees vendors junket enterprises and representatives and labor organizations As included in the commissioner's packet and authorize staff to take all steps necessary To finalize the regular regulation promulgation process second Further discussion None all those in favor Aye Opposed five zero Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Excellent process. Thank you. Thank you Moving on to item number eight This is a report from commissioner zuniga On the game sense procurement And there is a memo in our materials Yes, thank you, madam chair. I can get started although I know agnes bolio was going to join us She was having her And marlene warner might be able to come up and be After my update and agnes be available for Some remarks and questions As the memo Shows and or tries to summarize we have Undertaken the in the process of re procuring Our game sense program manager Who was in uis in prior has been the council since we started And is the apparent successful bidder that we Will be describing upon to my colleagues for hopefully the ratification of of their contract We started this process seems like Four or five months ago in july. Yeah Um We issued an rfr as is described here with With the notice of intent To show with with a lot of anticipation And quite a bit of You know good timeframe for responses We we received a number of response a number of questions As part of the during the question and answer period That led us to believe that we might have more than one respondent To the rfr We try to make the rfr flexible enough to allow for that And including the option of Maybe having these Game sense these spaces be managed by By different program managers In fact one of the questions was relative to that somebody who was It seemed from their questions interested in in perhaps managing the southeastern part However, we ended up receiving one One response from from the council We had in our procurement team We enlisted the help of four people That have been providing us with a lot of help in the research review Efforts that we do they also provided mark With a lot of help In the procurement that is also ongoing Of the research effort Those people are Paul smith Who Is formerly of the british colombia lottery corporation So he has this is where the They implemented game sense or the concept of the concept of game sense To begin with he's retired from bclc and is now Gaming consultant We We also had the help of bruce cohen Who is another retired former dph? Investigator who has been part of our gaming research advisory committee since inception As well as tomland Who like bruce has been Instrumental in our advisory research advisory committee and tony roman As well has been part of these Efforts Myself I was the the the the the fifth person in this in this committee and We're helped by therisa Fiore and agnes bolio in terms of the actual management of the procurement Commissioner before we continue It we all became aware that there was only one respondent and that it was the council Um It is my understanding and legal todd you can Way in here that the five of us have made a disclosure. I know that four of us filed them Most recently to indicate that We could proceed fairly and objectively We we filed those with our appointing officials and we combined with the enhanced ethics code We wanted the public to know and our appointing officials to understand that We thought we could proceed objectively and fairly But we wanted to note that the former chair My predecessor Stephen Crosby is a member of the board of directors of the respondent Council I've added that I also learned that paul sternberg the former executive director Of the lottery for whom I worked is also on that Board of directors, so we Disclose those facts those documents are public documents and available through Alain Driscoll our communications director, but they're also on file with our appointing officials Thank you for that and I should further clarify that I submitted that disclosure at the beginning of this process When it was first identified With my appointing authority And I should further clarify that mr. Crosby had no an eye or anybody At any kind of conversation on these matters neither the procurement nor the negotiations that I will later explain As we as we come forward today so in in general and maybe later Our link and speak a little bit more to that we wrote The rfp with a real Sense of looking forward For the next few years and a real goal of improving the program We know quite a bit about An evaluation that we did in the past and so we wrote it to include things like reaching out to Disadvantaged communities communities that may be that we know from research May be in a position to be more impacted from gambling harm Which is again a focus of these of this program. It is for everybody It's for different. It has different approaches, but it also Takes into consideration than not that non-white communities and other groups Are perhaps not perhaps are at times at a higher risk of experiencing gambling harm There was another principle that we embedded when we wrote the The rfp And that was more presence and more outreach out in the community In you know in general terms The initial response back from the council identified a number of activities in In that regard in response to those Enhancements if you will or those additional Aspects and they identified them as many of them as additional costs To the program As part of the negotiations That that ensued after after the review with the review committee We arrived at Including as much as possible of those additional features Community outreach there is a cultural audit that I'll let you speak a little bit more about There's some data collection That we will we will also be they already they are already in fact doing As well as outreach to those communities non-white groups and other communities of color That are essentially Within the current budget that we have For the program That's that's that's in a you know, that's in a nutshell the the subject of the negotiations We come with what I believe to be an enhancement to the program for The price that we were paying before I should clarify that They are we are allowing for the next two years A cost of living adjustment that they because this is mostly a program that Has a large percentage of their of their cost being staffing They are because some of these employees are already in their first or second years They are contemplating some additional costs of Living adjustments and the like that we're also contemplating for the second and the third year so At this point I can Let Agnes expound if you think that I missed anything Sorry, I think you got got the timetable accurate in the process Agnes, could you just clarify? I see in the memo that there's the balance for fiscal year 20 So that's 1.826 Custom change million And then the as I understand it's flat funded from before or level funded from before So what would the amount be annually the the grand total annually is 2.99 million to Yeah 2.99 Million August 3 million in the first the first year that's the first year. Yeah, and so the balance If All adds up to 2. And then it continues to be that on annual basis plus the Potential for the increase for cost of living correct. Yes The program essentially costs around 3 million dollars for us to run it. That's what we budgeted last time And that's annually. Yes. So the overall contract is Is a It is close to 9 million. I got a 9 million with the option of renewal for the additional three years. Yes so it's It's the same cost Plus cost of living adjustments correct I should perhaps clarify for background The we arrived at this number um Progressively because we we were asking at the council to staff One casino after another as they were coming online The the prior numbers included, you know, the first year is included only Plain Ridge Park As MGM came in we had a proportional Addition to the to that contract and when anchor came in which is the largest operation, of course Um, that's how that's how and when we arrived to the three million Benjamin Have you done any staffing analysis meaning? Have you been able to determine? um Advisors and their staffing Based on the need meaning Busier times when and other times so let me use the term a tuesday morning Where you may not need the same Staffing requirements Good afternoon Yes, we have we have been looking at that. I think it's something we're still trying to suss out a little bit more at encore um And again our our largest team is at encore, but we have a a pretty small team at at At ppc because we know that the need is just not as great there in terms of The population and then we ramp up during the busier hours there Um at MGM. I think we are a pretty steady state at this point as well And do know the busier time so we are able to flex that I think we're still figuring things out at encore I should add that there was Among the review team there were discussions prior to those negotiations to think about and consider, you know Whether a difference in schedule or a difference in resources Would would bring cost savings As part of the negotiations we are Leading the The ability to the council and the staff In this case going forward mark theresa, but myself to some degree Determined where those that timing might be better For example, I we don't have any preconceived notion that every gamesense center should should open at 10 a.m That's when they open right now 10 a.m It's easy to get down the path of you know anecdotal Instances in which you know, maybe here we should be opening earlier or later or double Increasing a doubling efforts, let's say in the evenings or the weekends All of that is is to be analyzed For the efficiencies of the program including the fact that we are now asking the council To think about how that community outreach and that presence in other places, not just at the casino Can be enhancing the program It may be that As as they are continuing to manage the program that they decide that they need certain flex time from certain people Or it works better to do outreaching such and such dates Etc. Etc Can I ask a question about the terms of the contract when it says Three years with an option to new for up to three. Is that done in one year increments or is it up to You know the contract manager to say we'll give you two. We'll give you three We'll give you one. How's that going to work? It can be done either way Whichever you feel most comfortable with we'll do the initial contract for the for the three years With the budgets Appropriately set aside then at the end of the three years you can step back and say we only want to do it for one at a time Or you can do it all three at once And back before the commission or back to the contract manager whose designate is That's something we can do the way we didn't know if you had contemplated One way versus the other I have a recommendation one way versus the other What I had contemplated is maximum flexibility for us the ability to come back And say, you know as in exchange and I'm just putting out a scenario In exchange of extending the assurances of a three-year renewal. We get some cost savings, for example Or no, we're only gonna Do up the fourth year one a one-year extension and see how it goes Again, just to give ourselves the flexibility If if you want we could come back for those those instances, you know, just given the size of the Of the of the program It is a clause that we can put in the contract however you wish that we can at at the end of You know six months prior to the end of the contract We can look at it again to see whether or not we renew for one Two or three years at that time and it can come before the commission And require a vote if that's what you want. We can do it any way You see fit I actually think that makes sense three years the appropriate amount of time to reevaluate meaning give us an update on How it's working, you know What the status is and then I think the commission can decide or whoever will be members of the commission three years from now Um, you know can really take a look and decide What the appropriate extension If there should be an extension a b if what the appropriate length of time is And if you need time for some corrective action or to Improve the overall performance to give them a trial basis to correct those things within a year Makes sense I would recommend that you look at it like six months before It's new just because that way if There should be a decision for reprocurement. You've got the six months in which to reprocure if you need to That makes sense You note that in your calendar Put that in your calendar I'm sorry She's not the only one. We'll be here for the master I'm assuming we also need to Take action steps to designate a commissioner I think the gentleman to my right would be perfect and agnus for the time That you're still with us. Can we designate you as the contract manager for the time being? That's I just wanted to clarify a couple of things As I've thought about this contract I understand under the enabling act which is eight years old tomorrow That our licensees must Allow for a complimentary On-site counseling services and those are both substance abuse and mental health Services, I know that that's been fleshed out in earlier commission meetings But they they must be on site. They are to be services And they must be administered by an independent entity And that's where the council's expertise comes in as the service provider It did the procurement team To see the number of FTEs or how much of this is salary versus administrative Costs did you have a sense of that in terms of the overall cost? Yeah, I know that's on it's probably online if I went and looked at it. I I saw that link late, so my apologies well, let let me Let me try to answer the that question, you know the the following way. There was a lot of discussion relative to data measurement eventual evaluation, and I'll come back to this in a few minutes and A number of and quality of interactions the a big metric for the program is Just how much and how many times The game sense advisors are interacting with with patrons Patrons who at different levels patrons who are occasional Players and more intensive players all the way to and including Either referring somebody for additional help Or signing them up in the voluntary self-exclusion program, which is a big part of what actually happens with with this program so the reality is that It's it's There's there's some challenges in how to measure and how to drive additional interactions Let me make a small parenthesis here Which is the reporting And the data collection the council has done since the last evaluation that we did on the program The council has done a lot of data collection relative to those interactions And they have submitted reports now to that effect as part of their contract with us We have not brought them to this commission Because we were going undergoing the procurement process, but there is a new format of reporting that you will see soon And you will soon see periodically That speaks a lot to How they're driving interactions and how they're measuring You know the different interactions and how they're driving quality of those interactions This is a program that we intend to evaluate Soon You know now that they're in the next couple years at least One now that they are Are going to be operating with some years in in the experience side In all three casinos Let me come back to the initial point I made or the parenthesis about data collection as part of the initial Evaluation the people that we asked to that to do that evaluation came in and put a lot of Owners on data collection for that evaluation on the council And that that was just the approach Um The the council is now doing a lot of data collection That that includes what what we what they what that evaluator thought was going to be important But we agreed that any future evaluation is going to be done And including the data of the data collection will be done by that evaluator not the council So they can concentrate on the data collection For management of the program And that gives them a little certainty that you know that is not going to add to the burden of what they already do So I guess my question was in terms of their budget. Yeah, how much of the budget was allocated what percentage was allocated to FTEs and in part-time employees employees human resources Versus administrative costs were they were you able to see that breakdown? Yeah, you might you might have a I don't want to you may have a better number than off the top of my head. It's it's a 70 plus percent labor cost Do you want to do you get that somewhat okay, or well, it's funny because I just said to Agnes earlier They're not going to ask me any questions about numbers, right? I mean the indirect costs which so I don't know Um Chairwoman if you're asking specific to administrative staffing or if you're asking to an indirect rate Well, the indirect rate is always interesting I was just thinking when you put presented your budget to the procurement team really How does how do we get to three million? kind of an So yes, I it's I think it's upwards of 75 to 80 percent or staff Um, and the remainder is other other things and I wouldn't say that's just administrative I would say that there's you know program supply costs. There's costs associated with trainings and Conference things like that. I'm not sure that I'm well, that's actually helpful. So those additional Costs are important in in terms of understanding the overall budget. So you're saying 70 percent Smilling your upwards or your workforce that go to the onsite and provide onsite services correct and and do we have a So that we can be completely transparent. Did you do any comparison in terms of I know British Columbia would be different, but we know that they run a game sense program. Do we have any Um Any comparisons in terms of salary or did we look at other social workers to know that they're being paid on You know in the right vicinity do did we look at the salaries at all? um We we did not look at that at benchmarking salaries That is something that the council must have arrived to you know To attract the people that they feel are are qualified for for the job Do you know on the average what the uh is On the average i'm sorry for a Let's say entry level Advisor game sense advisor what a game sense advisor is typically making is that what you're asking me average Do you have a second the game sense advisors? Uh when they come in are making in the Low like I think 60 61 thousand dollars I I think they get benefits on top of this and they get benefits. Yes. Is there a minimum You're expecting For those advisors Uh, so our our most of our advisors come from the gaming industry and We need to have time Within the gaming industry. I don't know that we have a set amount. I'd have to go back and assess that But I'd say most of them have five plus years Uh What we look for when they come in to work for as a game sense advisors that they've taken some leadership roles So most of them have been a supervisor or a manager of some type. They have Um, a number of them have done training opportunities And number of the folks who work in the training industry and the gaming industry have other jobs So we also took that into account as well But I wouldn't say the language capacity Language capacity is another key piece. Yes. We have a number of I think You know 11 or 12 Different languages beyond English and that is certainly a strong consideration when we're hiring as well So these are We we've been well informed in terms of these are professionals who have gaming expertise. They often have social um service Or mental health expertise And language expertise. I think Did I hear eight different languages if I remember correctly? I think it's more than that at this point. Yes So um, and then they make up about 70 percent of your budget so you can see so that that's about a workforce of how many Marlene in terms of so for our game sense advisors. We have uh, it's I think there's 27 of them in total So I know early on you were not looking for gaming experience, correct? And that that was a lesson learned from this program. Absolutely. So when we first uh, reached out to BCLC British Columbia Lottery Corporation Walt was one of the people that helped us at BCLC and he swore up and down in Sideways that we should only take people from the gaming industry to which I was sure he was totally wrong and um What we've come to find out is uh individuals who've worked in the gaming industry are incredibly well trained I liken them to although I've never worked in um, and in uh You know in a police setting, but I certainly think that they have eyes in the back of their head They always are assessing what's going on on the floor. They know what? uh, what patrons are Their affect has changed. Um, they're really able to always be checking They also know the games inside out and backwards as well and can explain They can explain the rules of the most difficult most complicated games. They really can simplify them So having all that um, it has been An immense value. I can't really kind of explain how important it has been to have those folks I will also say is they're comfortable in a casino and so when we had brought folks who had come from a social service background or um Who had a you know more clinical background It's a hard adjustment right to go from a clinical setting into working in a casino That is not a comfortable transition for a lot of folks It takes people a while and and oftentimes people are not interested in doing that long term So, um, we have found that the strength comes from people who have Had that leader those leadership roles who've had that gaming experience But who have honestly have felt Held back from helping patrons and customers in their previous positions and want to do something more Have struggled with being on that side of the table or um being in the You know slot banks and not being able to help patrons more not feeling empowered to do so They come to game sense and feel like they have a new lease on the gaming industry And I would add only add to that that uh, you know, there's it's really these customer service type of hospitality Training that comes with the gaming industry That is really also very valuable for the program. They engage with customers. Well Uh, they're friendly. It's all about attracting and and and eliciting Conversations and that's also a very very much an asset of the program Um, let me mention something else that I just thought of on a prior question. Uh, madam chair and that is um We should still and continue to think about the cost benefit of of the program and and and this is what we are You know what we will continue to do I liken it to, uh, you know, really Establishing figuring out the steady state when it comes to hours and workload There's there's an assumption embedded here, which is that you know more game sense advisors slightly more Game sense advisors are required for for encore because it's a much larger operation. It has Double the visitation or perhaps more. It has doubled the employees Um than mgm for example, and that is also a key area of interactions just training employees and engaging with them But it may be that maybe the two to one ratio doesn't hold as we continue to to think of of hours and and and workload The 70 figure that um that that we sort of put out there in terms of labor Does include You know manager level that do both manage advisors do some interactions engage with patrons, but also think about You know ways to improve the program and to me there's this real balance just programmatically between Staffing it for so long that it becomes For too long in the day. Let's say that it becomes really expensive and staffing it It's skeleton crew that it becomes not noticeable to people Who are there regularly, you know if people come in at different times and there there's never an advisor Let's say because they come at whatever times we don't we don't want to be there or think it's not as cost effective The program begins and the visibility of the program begins to suffer And that is that is the balance that I think will continue to try to strike The good news is that Just because of years PPC gives us a bit of a comfort level that you know, we will arrive at What we will begin to see a steady state And and they will arrive at what may be the right mix of part-time versus full-time Who they also sort of manage with so that they can respond to, you know, more intense periods in the day or the week as opposed to, you know And manage the program Effectively do you want to expound on that? I think one of the other things we're starting to learn we would is so we have once a month There were we attend a games and strategy meeting where it's MGC staff, it's mass council staff, and then it's the the licensee staff who interface with game sense in some way typically compliance Some internal marketing and sometimes external marketing folks security Sometimes surveillance is there. So just yesterday we had a meeting at MGM And similar to some of the events you heard about today We heard about kind of all the events, but we really go over those events to say, you know For the winter weekend You know with the red socks, which by the way, I have to get my tickets before they're all sold out, but the winter weekend What does that actually mean for game sense, right? So that means that there's people who are probably thinking about Gaming and gambling when they're around for the winter weekend That means there's kids In and around the casino in the casino area. How can game sense be useful with that? That means that there are opportunities for game sense to be milling about and talking about How you keep this fun and entertaining whether they're inside the casino or outside the casino So those are the type of things that we're going to put extra staff on that friday and saturday and and january And need to kind of be thinking about those are the things we can't always anticipate. We don't always know Both encore and MGM talked about events specific to the asian population and bringing in specific concerts and an entertainment acts those are opportunities where we would have our Staff who speak various asian languages coming in and making sure they're interfacing with the guests We're bringing in specific brochures. We're thinking about a specific game To engage those customers. So we're really trying to Have a ready state while also responding to some of these events and we're not always Obviously aware of we're not unfortunately. We're not in the conversations with MGM and the red socks have invited us yet But um, those are the type of things that we would love to know and continue to respond to I think game sense is as effective as The inclusion were allowed on site and I think we have to continue to figure that out Listen the licensees have been amazing and I'll tell you having been here from the beginning They were pretty resistant and concerned about who these you know non-paying residents were going to be on site at their casino You know, I'm hoping in december 19th When mark gets to present some of his programs and you see the licensees come back You'll hear from them how they feel just the opposite at this point that this is a real value to their casino operations. So So we are still figuring this out even though and I can't believe it that it's been eight years Since the announcement came down that we were going to have casinos in massachusetts That we are in a in a different spot Then we were and I think we'll in three years Hopefully when we're here talking to you about why we should continue to be the game sense operator We will have learned a lot Are you do you feel like you are tracking appropriately, which is so important for evaluation Meaning all of your interactions are tracked The numbers that move on to further recommendations, whether it be counseling or self exclusion So, I mean, I think that's a really important piece that a lot of new programs struggle To understand how important that is Yes, I think that our director responsible gambling and our senior gsa's have done a Fabulous job of really putting that into place and with the guidance of dr Doctor just gave him a increase director van der linden. It could be a doctor someday and uh, Teresa and Making sure that we are asking the right questions and then they're not frivolous in terms of our data collection But they actually mean something So we have a pretty extensive checklist that has been revised a number of times that the game sense advisors need to track every interaction Can we get better at that? Absolutely Are some people much more reliable in terms of entering because they're having a conversation then they have to remember to Not just immediately jump to the next conversation, but listed in and they're doing this via ipads most of the time um, I think some of the games and staff are so friendly with the The licensee staff that I think sometimes they forget that those are interactions. They should be listing Um, so I think there's certainly more we could be doing in terms of the integrity of that data But I think that it's gotten dramatically better um, you know The commissioner had mentioned earlier when there was a third party evaluator who came in and uh, how difficult that was and and The practice was good because I think it really helped the game sense advisors at that point was just at ppc To understand why we're asking these questions But the difficulty was that they were handing a survey versus having a conversation and noting it themselves They're handing a survey to someone and they had to kind of walk away So the person didn't feel pressure to answer the survey I mean the space is not very large, right? So it's it was awkward. It's kind of socially awkward to do that so I think That was hard, but I think the actual data collection is good. I still think right now in the vc checklist I mean on the vc um application there's an um opt into having one of our staff members call them back a week later and we um Do up to 10 tries to try and reach that person at their request I think there's more we could be noting about those conversations about why we're not getting to that person I think there's a lot more we still can learn I think the reinstatement sessions or the exit sessions when people are coming off of their term for vc and coming back into Presumably coming back to gamble because they're coming off this list. There's a lot more we can learn about that I think one of the things that that this program has had to figure out is This is it in the us, right? So we are the only program in the us We are the only um state doing uh in-person Exit reinstatement sessions. We are the only state doing a number of these things And so we've been while really well guided by bclc There's a lot of things that are very different about this program than even bclc. So we've been kind of finding our way Again, I think I'm very confident about where we are But I still think there's there's ways to improve and certainly data collection is one of them The other thing that we've talked about is putting into place a positive play scale Survey and that is going to be I think crucial one of the things we have learned from our partners in canada is that Player segmentation is important. So right now one of the things we do is that If my game sensors was they do know all of you But if you all were to walk in and playing clothes and they didn't know who you were they would treat each of you Exactly the same Even though maybe bruce wants to have a longer experience of the casino you want to have a short experience Maybe you've gone with friends like it doesn't matter who you are They're going to listen to you and they're going to talk to you But they're going to have basically the same set of tools We hope that with the data that comes out of this positive play scale that better assesses what Um, what is the knowledge people have what is um the pre commitment to gambling safely? A number of measures. There's 14 Questions in this tool We will be able to better segment the player interaction So one of the things that they're starting to do up in in british columbia is say There's typically between five to six types of players Which is kind of remarkable given how many people walk in a casino all day But typically five to six types of players, but the they're able to better segment Their responsible gambling Interventions and tools to those various types of players So we still have a lot more to learn here in massachusetts so we can better gear what we're doing That was a long answer to your short question. Yes. No, thanks. Thanks for but it was a good one That was um, that was something I I Failed to mention at the beginning and I had written down that we should mention and that is as part of the The program that we are now hoping to do in addition to what we were doing Before is these player segmentation via the positive play Survey, I think that's really where the where the opportunities sort of Come in in terms of engaging in a different But targeted way And we'll continue to have a research and data collection feedback As I mentioned, I I think we uh in the you know within the next couple of years should be thinking about a program evaluation With the lessons learned from the first effort They're doing a lot of data collection that will help them by by definition Improve their their management of the program I suspect you already noticed that who is really good at engaging in terms of having Conversations at what times or maybe you know, who can be Paired up to do a little bit of mentoring or who is better at engaging with employees and that is that those are all those are all things that Through the data collection and now managing Three sites We hope that the program will improve I just want to add that While I've only been here really since February my impression has been that there has been Data rich data collected. I've been able to learn so much about Really the success of game sense because of what you have been collecting and I the idea that it will only get richer is of course better I also know um again with my limited time frame that Massachusetts is the envy of many other jurisdictions because one the legislators Had the foresight to include This probably very ominous requirement for any licensee here and then My predecessor And fellow commissioners who were part of the decision to hire your Council to implement game sense Saw something special Because game sense is so highly regarded Really around the world And you know, we can credit mark and in teresa in many ways for Really guiding that and on rike and my predecessor steve crosby With that said All the accolades in the world we do have a responsibility And I think that what I understand is that there was vigilance over costs and that there were negotiations over costs We are getting something more Than what we've got before and so that seems to be all fiscally very sound the services I I don't know if any of my fellow commissioners have any questions about that In terms of what has been going on any further questions. Um, but I can just say that When you enter any of our licensees facilities you have Folks there who love what they do And they want to keep on doing it well So thank you. Thank you. I really appreciate that Yeah, I would concur. I Always enjoy stopping by and listening and learning and watching Their enthusiasm and I I know that it makes a difference with those relationships that they end up having with with patrons so From that standpoint, um, I know that's anecdotal, but it is it is part of Observing what we do and understanding and I just think you put together an amazing team Thank you. Thank you. They are amazing. I'm very very blessed to have them. Thank you Madam chair I move that the commission award a three-year contract to manage the game sense program with an option to renew for Up to three years as discussed here today to the massachusetts council and compulsive gambling Do we also want to designate Let's do it next second Any for the questions for marlene or for anri gave the commissioners unica Would second that All those in favor I Opposed five zero. Thank you excellent work and thank you agnes I was glad to see you at the table Thank you very much. Thank you. Now. We do have that the extra motion Uh, madam chair had moved had further moved to designate agnes bolia as the Contract manager on behalf of the commission and that commissioner zuniga be authorized to execute the contract On behalf of the commission after consultation with the office of our general council second and then the only Clarification would be with respect to how we line up the renewal provision Okay, so that's noted any further discussion. I think he referenced that in the first motion. Oh, I'm sorry We would come back. I was looking at the other okay, so my apologies. All right So we should be all set on that any further discussion or clarification for All those in favor I I opposed five zero. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you I was Excellent now we can go to commissioners devins, please on your recent form I'm sure. Thank you, madam chair. I'll keep it brief because I'm anxious to get to cake and our friends from nct who are here But included in your packet you have a just an update a memo from myself Regarding our fostering partnerships event here last week Just again a simple background Kind of throughout this Eight-year period since the passage of the gaming bill we've heard from a number of stakeholders Who were excited about the inclusion of language focusing on minority women and veteran-owned businesses as part of the project But the question was raised. Okay, if i'm not a contractor. I'm not an architect I don't offer supplies to one of our gaming Licensees what other opportunities are available and I think now with the opening of our three licensees In their close work with our host communities. They are all beginning to think What comes next? What are the additional development opportunities? Is host communities begin to think about? What's the benefit of having this casino in our community? What are the development opportunities available? I know our community mitigation fund has actually funded some strategy making for Communities to figure out how they can leverage The presence of the casino So again taking in All of the voices and comments we heard from stakeholders All across the state, you know some prominent folks like daryl settles and others were big voices Asking us to explore this a little bit further Our gaming licensees were on board our host communities were on board. So last week we Had a gathering in this room. We had about 50 Guests who represented mbe's wbe's vbe's other state agencies potential developers potential financing resources Some of our partner organizations like the center for women and enterprise and initiative for a competitive inner city They all got to hear first hand from our licensees What their project has been they got to hear from the host communities is what is to what the Development opportunities are and we hope we've started a conversation. So Everybody who registered or everybody who attended got a list of all the other attendees They got copies of all the presentations that were made And and again, we hope this sparks a conversation as things move ahead and that There's some good business opportunities and business partnerships that are formed. So It was very seemed to be well received and you know, we hope these conversations continue So but that's the the thrust of my report, which was in the packet I'd actually like to thank commissioner stebbins for this initiative having had the opportunity to attend The event it was excellent. I met some interesting people and To listen to them and watch them interact and think about possibilities As well as president mouth is saying this morning that he's already received several emails about Some of the opportunities that he talked about That's really encouraging. So I commend you for your initiative Yeah, thank you I credit jill and crystal and Janice and jameanus and austin for all their help and Organizing the meeting. I know that's not my strong suit. So I count on that Always helps to have a strong team Yeah, it's really great to hear. I'm sorry I missed it, but I heard through john who's not here that That it was a great success that that there was a lot of great conversations not just as part of the presentations, but Afterwards and It appears some will continue. So it's really great to hear It truly became a networking event, but the presentations were very special to see The Licency teaming up with their close communities and that was just made for a very special Special presentation would be great to be duplicated. So thank you bruce. Thank you very much Before we move on to our special guests I just wanted to add under commission matters that I I did attend the gaming policy advisory committee And it was a very substantive discussion our legislator My legislator colleagues on the on the committee Had an opportunity to share their views But I wanted to take time just this moment to recognize the the chair karen soyer Who is stepping down? She Has done a great job in that committee In her leadership will be missed I know that we'll be looking for the governor's office to help in Attempting to replace her but she has a superb Opportunity she will be the city manager of the of port smith new hampshire So and while we're very reluctant to say As residents of the commonwealth how special port smith is we do know that so it's a great job for her But anyway, we thank her. I think john samba would have been thanking her today, but he's not here So we thank her very much So any any further questions for commissioner stevens? Okay, then we'll move on to um item number nine on our agenda director griffin Good afternoon Good afternoon Today we celebrate the two-year anniversary and the successes of the northeast center for tradeswomen's equity And the build a life that works campaign With me today our mary vogel To my right executive director of building pathways and also representing nct Kate leon Also of the northeast center for tradeswomen's equity. She's the pipeline navigator and savvy francis Who is now a journey level pipe fitter from local 5 37 5 37 And she worked Building on core boston harbour with other pipe fitters Yeah So the campaign just to give you a little bit of brief background resulted from recommendations Of a six month focus group of access and opportunity committee members That I pulled together in The year 2016 To respond to the challenge that our licensees were and all large developers were facing Um regarding the supply of tradeswomen So since 2017 Mgc has awarded more than 20 200 000 dollars in grant funding to launch and sustain This partnership including the development of the website Branding advertising Collateral and and the support of staff Um, so With that brief background i'm going to turn it over turn the presentation over to mary vogel Thank you. Jill and thank you commissioners for inviting us here today. Um, again, my name is mary vogel I'm executive director of building pathways as well as a board member and treasurer of the northeast center for tradeswomen's equity And sort of the ex officio administrator of nct um and commissioners stephens Refer to the requirements in the gaming legislation around having a diverse supplier group Perform work on that project But the gaming legislation also set goals for women people of color and veterans and women in particular Are vastly underrepresented in the building trades and so nct e was created to target increasing the participation of women in the building trades nct e was actually officially created in 2016 And then we began our partnership with a mass gaming commission To launch the first ever statewide campaign to outreach and educate women about career opportunities in the building in the building trades And we did this through a collaboration of our founding organizations for nct e so that would be building pathways The policy group on tradeswomen's issues The building and construction trades of the metropolitan district, which is basically greater boston building trades the new england carpenters regional council And the mass afl cio. So this was a consortium of organizations that have been working on this issue for quite some time and with that Leadership and experience We worked with the gaming commission to launch this campaign Which was funded largely by the gaming commission But also several other partners the mass convention center the building trades employers association the mass construction advancement program A g's office. We've had funding from us dol The boston foundation and some other partners So this has been truly a collaborative effort to increase the participation of women in the building trades And we have approached this throughout as a supply integrated supply demand strategy So the demand is created by public agencies such as the mass gaming commission Creating these workforce hiring goals for women people of color and in this case veterans There are other state agencies that have these goals the city of boston has them So we understand that in order to increase participation and retention of a diverse workforce You have to have that demand side of the equation ncte and building pathways and similar pre-apprenticeship programs come in to make sure that we have a supply of diverse workers To fill those demands So ncte through this marketing campaign, which kate will really focus on this afternoon and savvy Was really focused on making sure that we have that supply making sure that women Understood that these career opportunities are available and that women can do this work Have done this work and will continue to do this work So I think you know the real crux of this was to create that visibility because frankly if women don't see other women on the job site They don't know these career opportunities are available to them. So that was the real thrust of this campaign You had your supplier diversity meeting Last week. I think you said commissioner stephens We also had a diversity summit in at smith college at umass in the western part of the state Really trying to create a legacy of the work that was done with the mass gaming commission To talk with other developers owners and users about how you can create a diverse workforce on the projects that you're funding So we had Academic institutions at that summit. We had healthcare institutions other anchor institutions that can really make a difference in making sure That the legacy here continues across the state and So i'd like to actually, you know, thank the commission for its work in Hosting that that summit and also in particular uh, jill griffin um Elaine Driscoll Crystal Howard commissioners stephens who we've been working with all along on this project and their input and support has has been invaluable and really necessary and So thank you and with that i'm going to Turn it over to kate who will talk more particularly about the components of our build a life campaign Sure. Thank you. Mary. Thank you jill and thank you commissioners We're also excited to be here today to celebrate our two-year anniversary with cake and so Let's get to it so as mary mentioned the build a life that works campaign is Was founded by a coalition of partners, um, which she listed but the mass gaming commission has been Uh, a major partner along with the boston building trades the mass afl cio and the north atlantic states council of carpenters, which is the new name for the new england, uh, carpenters and um This is an important work that we're doing. Um, because it is getting women Into great careers the building trades offer great careers for anyone regardless of gender We know they have great wages. They have great benefits paid training But women don't always have access so savvy could you tell us a little bit about Your career and kind of how joining the building trades affected your life. Good afternoon I was working in a non-profit organization in rocksbury back in 2012 I've always knew I wanted to get into the building trades as a young child playing with my grandfather's tools He was in the dc 35 painters union and As I was working making just 12 dollars an hour I was like, I need something better. So the director of the company I was that ended up sending an email blast for building pathways So I looked at that as being my golden ticket to try to go through what I had to go through for paperwork Um, the testing math and everything to get my foot in the door So I 2012 I remember going down to the info session on temple street at abcd at the time and I sat through the info session brought all the paperwork made sure I made copies of it just in case if I forgot anything Studied the math packet that was given to us And I remember going to the carpets training center in doorchester There were so many women In that room going for the same goal as I was going for And I just kept telling myself I'm gonna I have this in the bag then I remember September receiving the letter that I was in the I got accepted into building pathways And from there I was just so happy because I just knew from there. That's the start of everything for me went through it The seven week program at the time We went to different training facilities to decide which one we wanted to Go into And I remember at the time when I interviewed with Mary I picked iron workers electricians and the bricklayers On the application for the interview part and I just remember Mary saying this is everywhere Like because it wasn't all like with the pipe fitters It's a pipe trade. So I'd picked The sprinkler fitters and the plumbers I could see where it all related to but it was just all over the place Because I was just so excited and I knew people I have uncles that are retired electricians and everything And I knew people that are iron workers and bricklayers. That's the only reason why I picked those three But being able to get hands on at the different training facilities. That's when I decided I want to be a pipe fitter instead So I graduated in December 2012 and I remember them letting us know that the pipe fitters are accepting applications in the month of january 2013 I I walked down there Because I went back to my old job For some sort of income. Thankfully I was living in an apartment. My father owns a house in Dorchester So I walked down there fell off the application brought everything with me and I just remember Waiting at the at my mailbox every day for the letter Had an interview in april Got the phone call from the assistant business manager in june to start working The very next day, which was a wednesday So ever since then I've been with the pipe fitters local 537 The same company also e.m. Duggan I'm going into my seventh year I actually bought a house right after I graduated from my apprenticeship in may 2018 Got married in may 2018 and just had a baby a month ago Yeah So yeah, as you can hear these are really like life changing family sustaining careers and it takes programs like building pathways that That savvy went through and campaigns and initiative like build a life that works to make the pathways to these careers Clear for women and for people of color and other groups that were traditionally underrepresented in in the field Can I just ask I think I just realized a few minutes ago. Are you the face of the campaign one of the faces? Yes, one of course one of the faces she walked in and I was right Right up there. I should say I look at your face every day Because I go through forest hills where your Yeah, I was at that job The Demio She's right around the corner too on that side. You look very different without your helmet My husband actually has to look at that post every day at work. He's had a gta the formally welfare So they have a poster at his office That's great. I hope he's proud and she has autographed one of those posters. Is that right? Could I ask a question as well miss francis? So you're a journey woman now Yes, could you please explain the difference between an apprentice and a journey woman? Sure as an apprentice I went Through schooling with the union So my first year I went two nights a week and then 537 changed it for the first and second years now you have to go during the week You work for six weeks and then you go to school for a week Then third fourth and fifth year you end up going at night and you go through tests You have to get certified for your med gas. You can get certification for welding I did all five years. I studied for the state exam Then I became a journey level September of 2008 even though I graduated in april I got my license since september 2018. So you get a pay increase also Each year from an apprentice and then once you get a license you get the At the big bucks as you can say as a journey level person So it doesn't sound like it was easy, but you persevere. Yes, I went to school Nights as a first year and then third fourth and fifth year I went nights also Depending on what year you are it could be three nights a week And then the nights were hard because If you had a family which my husband has a son prior from a prior relationship So they depended on me to make dinner after I came home from school From working From six to two o'clock in the afternoon then going to school from five to eight And then going home having to have homework that needed to be done for the for class studying also and then sometimes You catch it like I would when I was working at on core. That's when I was in my fifth year apprenticeship So I actually had to drive While they were rebuilding our school I had to drive to Norwood So I'd leave straight from work to sleep in my car for three hours before class started Or sometimes I would just listen to myself because I was studying for the test So I had my Phone going with my voice Staying the questions and answers for the state exam Great technique to study. Yes. Yeah These savvy to actually told us just earlier today That she had turned off her facebook during her apprenticeship because these are Great careers, but they're also pretty rigorous and elite careers. So Back on facebook now that she's a journey woman I don't have to study for anything Yeah So in addition to helping women like savvy connect with great careers This initiative Also helps the Massachusetts economy because the construction industry over and over you hear people expressing a labor shortage Projects get delayed etc But there's a pretty say 50 of the population that Isn't always tapped into with women. So There's a group over here saying we need workers and then there's a group over here Which is women folks of color saying we need work. So we're working to connect those two Makes sense So how we do the connecting Is through a couple ways the main barriers for women and getting into the Building trades are exposure and access. So If you exposure means if you've never seen something how you're going to think to do it If you've never seen a woman in a hard hat, you may never think of putting one on And then access the pathways to trade careers are not always clear or people don't it takes Knowledge of where to go when and so the ways that we address The visibility piece is creating branded marketing assets featuring real trades women like savvy Which we'll go over in detail and the way that we address the Access piece was I worked as a pipeline navigator telling women exactly where to go when and what the steps were They needed to take in order to enter these careers So the Advertising that we did We can see it up here But include ads billboards brochures and flyers All with the same branding featuring real trades women from massachusetts And each of these things had a really clear Direction for women who actually wanted to take the next step to go to our website And that's where all the rich information was Sobbing men never change your glasses Yeah, they're cool So our website is build a life ma.org and it has Tons of great information for women seeking careers. There's FAQs about women in construction There's real trades women stories and trades women who are already in can submit their own story to inspire other women Um descriptions of the different trades and a contact form, which has been That's the key way that women connect with us is they go to our website They fill out that contact form once they fill out that form. We're able to guide them from there We have their communication info Can I just add before um cake goes on Prior to this campaign the way people found out about the opportunities One way was going to the department of labor website where there was I think it was a 36 page pdf that lists all the different union programs the times and days that they show up and the different varying requirements and so This is streamlined. It's easy. They you can see the yeah So the the idea of this website is that um someone just has They put their contact info in and they have a single point of contact, which is me That's going to guide them through so It it makes it if for any of the union trades someone can come to me and i'm their go to for any questions So a key way that we reach women in the community is through trades women tuesdays, which has been a big hit Um Savvy can you tell a bit about trades women tuesday and how it works? Yes So it's a panel of different trades women that come together to speak to a group of women from various areas of the city of boston and just outside of the city and They can ask a question to anybody on the panel if they're interested for an electrician To be an electrician to be a plumber there's somebody on the panel If there is not someone on that panel that they're interested like we'll say maybe a sheet metal worker There's means of ways where somebody can connect that person to contact That person that's in that trade, but it's it's a good networking system, especially for other trades women especially like say you need a carpenter Usually we meet right before the meetings and we exchange information. We've all become good friends where One hand washes the other as well And some of the women actually that come to the meeting will ask us for our contact information too to find out like how do we go about on Applying for the local you're in or more questions if they're scared to ask in the group at the time So we usually stay a little bit later So they can be comfortable to pull us to the side to ask us How how have we been treated since we've gotten in?  Is it like how to how do you end up saving money as you're working as a tradesperson as well too? Letting them know make sure you pack your lunch or whatever the case may be Um, just just little bits of information for the women to help them get their foot through the door and just applying I had I had the chance the privilege of attending one of your trades women Tuesdays out in Springfield and um one it was so it was Inspiring to see women already in the trades talking with women considering the trades It wasn't a big group that night. It was a I mean it was a healthy group and One of the women had had to bring her young child along and Obviously the child was not really interested in the conversations mom was having It was amazing because all the other Moms and women kind of like pitched in entertaining this This kid while the conversation was going on and it just it showed how serious they all were but how they were almost Defective, you know feeling a part of a sisterhood to Is they got ready to to consider a job in the trades? It was An incredible evening Well, as Savvy mentioned one of the outcomes of conducting these trades women Tuesdays in addition to informing women about the career opportunities in the building trades Is this creation of a speakers bureau? So the trades women that come to these meetings that Savvy said meet before the actual Open house gives them an opportunity to build stronger relations across the trades But then these women also we count on them to speak at various events. For example our massachusetts girls in trades conferences Kate has them come to career fairs with her and other events. So it's a real opportunity to build Leadership skills actually with these the trades women that participate So we've had this unexpected but very valuable outcome as a result of this event Mary, do you um or anybody?  About what might be encountered? You know acceptance Do you do you see more acceptance? You know in the late few in the last few years We certainly see more acceptance. I think if you talk to trades women who have been in the industry for some time They've seen a sea change. There's still a long way to go. And so in addition to Working on increasing the participation of women in the construction, which in itself is making that difference We're also working on retaining women and that comes with training So We've done some respectful workplace training for contractors and we're going to continue to roll out more training to make sure that all workers understand the importance of Establishing and sustaining a respectful workplace that recognizes the dignity of all workers and the the contributions that a diverse workforce can bring to Um Changing the culture of the industry. So that work is being done as well So in regard to uh tradesmen Tuesdays. Yeah, they're really great for visibility of trades women For retention of existing trades women and we plan to continue them Um across the state into the next year, but um, we've held 45 of them so far over our first two years Sabi participated in the boston area once almost every month. We'd see you come out And we also hold them Various regions we had one last week in Worcester and next week is going to be springfield trades women Tuesday next Tuesday And uh two years in we're starting to see an impact. We've had To date 1,608 women Connect with us who are now added to our pipeline and receive communications from me and guidance And I we have new women reaching out over facebook and email and all the different ways we connect every day and they say kate I'm so glad that I found build a life. I'm glad that I found you because Um either I've been trying to get in but I wasn't sure of the steps or I've been trying to get in But I didn't have the uh confidence to do this on my own and I needed to meet with other women Or I never thought to do this before but I read the your website and it seems like these are um, there's plenty of benefits to going this way So that's pretty rewarding. These are both women the over 1600 women have either connected with us through the website alone or Attending to trades women Tuesday and then when they come to a trades women Tuesday They actually sign into the website So we are tracking all of the women that we're interacting with when you talked about data collection That's our forte right now. So Okay before you go on because I'm afraid that I won't get a chance to ask this question because of the culminating surprise You and I think savvy would agree have been so instrumental in The success of these women and you see that just that picture alone of color And I'm suspecting that you were the point of contact for each of them Can you just say a little bit of your background and how you came to this position? Sure. Um, so prior to this position I started a pre-apprenticeship program uh training program for construction in washington dc And that program actually used running as a tool for job readiness. So, um, The idea was that by getting people up early in the morning to run it would Give them work ethic and physical fitness. Um, and so having That background of actually running a pre-apprenticeship program, let me really see that construction can be Great careers that wasn't a non-union program. I will say I'll plug the union here because working now with union partners I see that the the level of training that I like the training that unions provide that I can direct folks towards and then the Job opportunities are really top-notch with the union. So That's a big difference and makes me really proud of being here and working in mass for right now Thank you sure and massachusetts Right now just Took the top spot for the percentage of women in apprenticeship. So We edged ahead of oregon where they're also doing a lot of work great work To get women into the trades and retain them in the trades And we can say it's due in part to the build a life campaign in large part to the demand that was created by having goals on the casino projects here in mass and which drove the The industry to bring in more workers And we actually made history through our work with mass gaming the encore boston harbour bills employed 491 trades women and that's the most ever on a single project And both of the projects the mgm spring field and the encore boston harbour exceeded their workforce diversity goals So he talked about the women that we've helped here's some photos of women who Um have come through the pipeline and are now working in the field And we'll spotlight a few this is uh terrell brown. She's now working as an iron worker On iron workers apprentice and she came to a tradesman tuesday Her the presentation Put in her applications went through the pipeline and got her start that way And then kim macintosh here is a teamsters apprentice so a driver That's what teamsters do and she found us through the build a life that works website and she is Such a rock star in her apprenticeship program right now that the president of the teamsters local 25 Actually wrote us a short note about kim and how well she's doing so i'm gonna share it with you guys So he said Thank you for pointing kim macintosh in our direction Your assistance was recruitment through build a life that works helped kim navigate our training program Kim was successfully able to balance her home work and training responsibilities and complete the training Upon completing her road test kim went to work right away in the teamsters job And the 12,500 members of teamsters local 25 will be proud to call her sister Sean o' brian president of the teamsters So that's great way to go kim And the pipeline is growing every month we meet new women like kim and terrell Who are interested in these jobs? They want to do this work It puts down any naysayers who say women don't want to do this work And we're going to continue to do tradesman tuesdays throughout the next year in different parts of the state and You can go to our website to see what the schedule is if you'd like to if anyone's interested like bruce in attending And uh, see what what's up? and one final note and then Open we're all open to questions is that We are growing as an organization. So as we make more and more contacts, we need more staff So we're hiring a new pipeline navigator I'll be working as a program director and If you're interested in seeing the job posting you can contact us So thank you. You may know susan moyer who has worked She's worked in this area for 20 years And she's uh semi-retired and due to retire at the end of march 2020 so kate's going to assume a lot of The work that susan had done and we're hiring a person to replace kate as the pipeline navigator So there's our big shoes, but i'm sure you're up to the task. We're growing to a staff of two But a lot of volunteer hands-on work, so That's great congratulations Sammy you worked at encore. Yes. Have you been back to the finished product? No, not yet. It's not yet.  I was studying to get out of my time to become journey Journeyman journey level journey woman I just wanted to relate another comment that uh savvy made earlier this afternoon. She said her stepson was you know He's in high school. I guess a senior in high school and looking at you know What he was going to do in his future and he was considering pipe fitter College or the Air Force and he said you know my dad kept telling me you got to go to college You got to go to college and then we're realizing that the Highest breadwinner in the house. He's a pipe fitter. So maybe that's the way to go. He ended up enlisting in the Air Force, but Certainly, uh, it just goes to show how uh, these you know How wonderful these careers can be in terms of wages and benefits and and just frankly Not just you know a new rise to the benefit of the individual but to the community in which they live and work. So Great great stories. Obviously So interesting miss frances that you uh, you're studying Your whole uh personal life is expanding.  So You are You're commended and I'm sure you've encouraged a lot of other women to uh To say I can do this too. Yes. Thank you. Savvy's a rock star literally Yeah Great work And commissioners when we break I'll invite you for a brief photo op with our Cake back Great all of you great work. Thank you. It's tremendous making a difference. Yeah So director griffin we're all set. Do we have any other business? We have an update we have take I know that's the update here. Yes, that's the update Then I think we need a motion I move to adjourn second those in favor. I opposed five zero. Thank you