 right? I want everyone to take note that it for Austin it is 7am and he has joy written on his couch in the background and there may be both holiday reasons for that joy and other reasons that we'll talk about. He's been getting up pretty early for us so thank you Austin. We'll do a roll call. Commissioner Cameron. Good morning. I am here. Commissioner O'Brien. I am here. Commissioner Hill. I'm here. Great. We'll get started. Today is public meeting number 363. We're going to start with our administrative update. Good morning. Karen, second director. Good morning. So hello to everyone. Just as a preliminary matter just to make a note as you're aware and was reported in the media that wind resorts is looking to potentially develop property across the street from the casino. We're currently gathering information on that proposal. We'll keep the commission formed as to any potential next steps or any potential commission review. So just stand by on that. We are monitoring that. I just want to make note of that because I had been in the media. So for our first administrative update item I'm going to turn it over to Bruce Bann for our onsite casino updates. Good morning, Madam Chair and Commissioners. This is a very slow update. I guess it's my Christmas update. I even solicited the casinos for anything. Everybody's ready for the Christmas holidays and that's kind of all I have for you. If anybody has any questions, I'm more than willing to answer. If not, I know that Director Lilios has a COVID update for you. Thank you. Any questions for Bruce on operations or any of the properties? Commissioner Hill and I had a nice visit yesterday over at MGM Springfield. Any questions or follow-up? Commissioner Hill? I'll stop. Okay. Then I'll... You're more than next meeting. That's right. Good morning, Loretta. Thank you. Hi. Thanks, Bruce. Thanks, Kathy. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. So it seemed like a good time to update on protocols at the three casinos as we're going into the holidays around COVID and in light of circumstances in Massachusetts. So with respect to Encore, Encore has been holding vaccine clinics for employees that started the week of December 7th. They've been very popular. They are administering boosters, the first dose, second dose, and the flu vaccine. The boosters have been the most popular and Encore is going to continue that clinic daily through, I believe it's December 22nd. They are continuing the practice of requiring employees to provide proof of vaccination and upon receipt of that proof, remember the employees wear special badges. Anybody without the vaccine proof must wear masks on property, but masks are, of course, optional or available to vaccinated people should they choose. And their tenants are following that same policy as well. With respect to MGM, MGM continues to require all employees to wear a mask on property, regardless of vaccine status. All salaried employees as opposed to hourly employees had a deadline to be fully vaccinated in mid-October. So all salary team members there are now fully vaccinated. New employees that came on board over the past few months, whether hourly or salaried, are required to be fully vaccinated. And their back of the house vendors also are following the same mask mandate. With respect to a Plain Ridge proof of vaccine status has been voluntary. And without proof, they have a badging protocol as well. Employees must wear a mask on property. Let's see what else I have for you. The casinos are continuing to report their COVID positive cases amongst their employee population that they become aware of to the IEB. And as in the past, not surprisingly, the trend parallels the trend in Massachusetts. So there has been an uptick over the past, I'd say, month and a half to two months. They are following the CDC and DPH protocols and also in terms of adopting personnel policies around leave and testing before returning for folks who do test positive. Interestingly, the positive notifications are amongst the vaccinated and unvaccinated population. And I've seen in some of the reports, a number of asymptomatic people who are testing positive, they get tested due to upcoming travel or in that way that they're positive or they're tested positive after an exposure. So they are taking steps to address risks in departments to control any trends within a department. Of course, they're continuing all of their reporting to the Department of Public Health, I'm sorry, to the local boards of health as well. And they are continuing to monitor the situation and stand ready to adjust policies if needed. So I just thought it was an important time to report that to you again as we're given the trend and also as we're heading into the holidays. Questions for Director Malios? I think Loretta, what you've highlighted is that it really, again, the trends we're seeing in the facilities really reflect what we're seeing in the macro system. So staying tuned and it's really important. It's not lost on any of us that yesterday marked the loss of 100,000 people in the United States. So it continues to be a grave situation. The science still is on our side and vaccination and booster program is so important. So thank you, Loretta. Okay. Thank you. Okay. I guess Karen then we go back to you, right, in terms of some upbeat news. So upbeat in that we know they're nice plans ahead. Exactly. Exactly. So we have two beloved employees who are leaving the MGC for wonderful opportunities. So I just wanted to start out. I'm going to turn it over to commissioners as well because I know they have very fond feelings for these two employees. So first off, Austin Bumpus, our digital communications officer. Hi, Austin. He has been just an absolute star in his position here. Particularly during the pandemic, he has been essential for our remote operations, just keeping this way we do business in a seamless manner. He is an absolute pleasure to work with. The entire staff is so fond of him. And so I just wanted to personally congratulate him. I know he has moved out to California. He is now starting a position at the digital as a digital marketing manager for Menlo College. So I wanted to congratulate Austin on that. You know, you've been just tremendous. And even, you know, during this transition period, stepping up and helping us out so that we were not sort of lost without you. So very, very happy for you. And just want to say thank you for all you've done. I know that I want to give the commissioners a chance to chime in as well, but just really, really excited for you and your new adventure out in California. Thank you very much. So I don't know, Gail, do you want to? Sure. Love to start. Austin, you were such a go-to person here before the pandemic and you continue with that and made it seamless for all of us during the pandemic. So I miss not seeing you in the office. You were one of the, you know, folks I'd look up to a little bit because you're a tall individual, but this sounds like a fabulous opportunity for you in a new city. And just tell me, Menlo College, where exactly is it? So it's in Atherton in the Bay Area here. So very, very exciting area, very beautiful and green and not a lot of snow on the ground. I bet. Well, that's a great opportunity. We will miss you, but certainly the college will have the opportunity to have what we have already experienced, which is just great, great, great service and you make everybody comfortable and, you know, we knew we could get through this with you at the helm. So congratulations and I hope to see you again in the future when you make it back to Boston, okay? Thank you very much. I look forward to some golf. Excellent. Alright, let's go to Eileen. Congratulations, Austin. I haven't said that to you individually yet. I'm glad to hear you're getting the type of position that you're getting because I think you have been sort of a unit of one in a lot of circumstances. You've gone through transitioning when, you know, like temporarily left and then came back and then left again. So I think that your title doesn't reflect the level of responsibility and the work product and the support you give to the commission and the commissioners in particular while you're here. I'm glad you were able to stay with us until we got someone else that I think we have you to thank for to help keep going. I had my daughter's out in that area for years. It's a beautiful area. It's, you know, I'm sure you'll, you've already loving it. But yeah, as Gail said, I'm sure it'll be back in Boston. Stay in touch. Let us know if you missed the snow and the wind in the rain or for any other reason. But thank you for everything you've done and good luck out in California. Thank you so much. Okay, so next up, go over to Brad. Well, we didn't get to meet each other, Austin, on a personal level, but you certainly have been someone we've been working with in the lab as a newbie and we appreciate, I appreciate your hard work. So I just want to wish you the very, very best in your next adventure. And if you ever do come back, please come to Boston, please come up so I can meet you in person and shake your hand for the job that you've done for the mass gaming commission. Good luck. Thank you very much. Look forward to meeting you. Excellent. And I'll turn it over to Kathy. Well, Austin, you have really been the steady presence that allows this commission to be expanded openly and transparently publicly. And you've done it, as Michelle Bryan said, on your own, but also so smoothly with two different partners, first with Elaine Driscoll. And then when she went on to Harvard, you stepped in with Sarah Magazine and you were able to really put Sarah in a great position to be able to do her job while you seamlessly did yours. And you went beyond the duties that were expected of you. You know, no one ever really knows what each of you do on behalf of the commission. But Austin truly has been writing the newsletters that you see. They're out in social media. They keep the public informed about the good work that so many of you are doing. And it's important for the public to understand that. And Austin has been just a superb communicator on that front. And then when Sarah came back, again, she knew she was in good hands, continuing to work with you. I'm thrilled because Austin chose to go to where he's going for lifelong. I hope purposes and reasons. And I wish that piece of your life the best. I'm really thrilled that you got a position that's going to be exciting to be in academia and with an institution that's going to be truly blessed to have you. You bring all the consummate professional capacity, but you just are such a pleasure. And you just make people happy. So thank you. And the other thing that people may not know is that Austin is continuing to help us on our transition. So even though he is really giving us notice so that he can have some nice time off, he's arranged with Karen to provide hourly assistance that will make it smooth for his successor and Crystal, who will be helping, as well as Jacqueline will be helping. It takes a village. None of this happens without all the good work behind the scenes. And Austin, you've done, you've set it up. You've worked so, so well during these really difficult times. I'm going to miss you, but I'm really happy for you. Really truly happy. Thank you so much. And thank you for all your help over the last few years. It's been awesome. So I want to, Karen, is it okay to ask the team if they have any parting words? Nobody needs to put on the spot. Crystal might have some something she wants to share. Is that okay, Karen? Absolutely. Oh, Kathy, you put me on the spot. But no, I'm thrilled too. I, Austin hears every day how much I'm going to miss him. So really, you've been more than a team player. I understand the work and the role. I know it can be quick and it can be hectic. But you're always so, so ready and cool and, you know, just transition quickly. You're going to do great. I love Tyred. I'm so excited for you, but we will miss you. And I will probably still bug you by text previously. But thank you so much, everything that you did during the pandemic and before and how quickly you transitioned here, even to begin with, you just kind of hit the ground running. So we will miss you. I'll say that for everybody, but I'm going to miss you a lot. So well, thank you. And I'm always a text away. Oh, I know. Great. And I don't mean to put anyone on the spot, but if anybody wants to chime in. Kathy, I'd like to jump in. So hi, Austin. Just on behalf of the IEP, whenever we needed you, you were just there and understood what we needed and have been so responsive and so positive and so supportive of everything that we do. So really want to thank you for that and wish you all the best on the West Coast. Thank you very much. Anyone else? Okay. Any other further parting words, Austin? No, I just want to say thank you very much. I want to, I guess, publicly thank Elaine Driscoll, obviously for bringing me in a few years ago and kind of taking a chance on me and obviously wouldn't be here without her. And obviously thanks, Sarah, for everything over the last year and a half, both on that temporary basis, when Elaine first left and when the second time, obviously, it's been huge having her around. I want to thank the commissioners, obviously, very nice words. And obviously, thank you for everything over the last few years and everything you guys do. And thank you, Karen, and thank you, Troop D, for letting me kind of stay on here while I was in California on a remote basis, kind of helping me out while I helped you out. And everyone else, I mean, Mark and the research team, Crystal, and I can't thank everyone. Obviously, it would take forever. I work with a lot of people, but I really appreciate everything. It's been awesome and very excited for this new opportunity. Great. Thank you so much. We're going to miss you. And thank you for continuing on. Okay. Exactly. Exactly. So we also have another very special employee who is maybe on the shire side, not on screen today, but I expect is watching on the live stream. And that is Jamie Ennis, who I believe was the second employee at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, was instrumental in working with the commissioners to set up the entire agency. She took such good care of the commissioners and the rest of us, super professional. She had an ability to see around corners, think three steps ahead and really was a caretaker and someone that cared about doing a good job. So I did want to congratulate her on her new opportunity in that admin position with a managerial role at the post commission with commissioners, Uniga, no surprise that he would want to continue to work with her, given his experience with her. So I know she's not on to interact, but I did want to give the commissioners a chance to say something given the significance of her role at the commission and just her significance to all of us on a personal basis. So why don't I start with Gail, since she's right here next to me. Yeah, Jamie, you better be watching. I'm kidding. Jamie, I will miss you. I met you almost 10 years ago. Really, it's bringing back all the memories of we were we were a gang of eight, right? The five commissioners, and we had three staffers, and you came over from UMass Boston graciously to I don't know if you knew what you were getting into and how much work it would be to set up a commission, but actually, you're volunteering to do it again. So I suspect you felt very valued in the experience. I counted on you tremendously. I do to this day. Of course, I was on the phone with Jamie a couple of times yesterday, even I'm sure we'll talk again today. But Jamie has been invaluable to this commission in a quiet way. Doesn't want the credit, but boy, behind the scenes, Jamie gets it done. There's not one thing that I've needed or brainstorm with Jamie about how we get something done that she doesn't come forth. Okay, this is what I set up. This is the meeting. This is how we're going to do it. And I'm telling you, it just made my life coming in from a different state to Massachusetts state government tremendously more effective because I had Jamie as at my side to really walk me through and assist with every task, every responsibility. And again, behind the scenes did not want that credit, which is why she probably doesn't want to be on camera today to be because she prefer to just get the job done. And boy, did you ever do that, Jamie. So I know I'll see you, but we will miss you here and all your contributions to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. And I know the post is was chomping at the bit to have you come over with your services with your skills, to assist them. So good luck. I think it's a great opportunity. And, you know, again, you will be missed. And I hope to see you soon, Jamie. Thank you. And so I know Commissioner Brian, you've had a chance to work with Jamie, so it's just going to give you a chance to say something if you wanted to. I do. And I hope someone sends her the link to all these comments with the timestamps so she can go right to all these words of praise. I know she doesn't want to be on camera, which as Gail said, is consistent with her personality. But I will miss knowing that when I finally start coming in on a more regular basis next year, that her smiling face is not going to be sitting waiting to greet me because it was one of the best parts of the day. And as Gail said, no matter what I needed in terms of coming in as a new commissioner or just needing to function, Jamie knew how to do it seamlessly. Without fanfare. And I said to her, her Tetris likeability with people's schedules, I think is going to be difficult to match with whoever we get in to take her place. I'm going to miss all the conversations about, you know, everything from, you know, how to deal with a puppy to, you know, how to master getting out into Western Mass and deal with something with our job. So it's a great opportunity. I think she deserves our thanks. I also think that she deserves our well wishes in terms of this new opportunity. And Rick was smart to grab her and give her this chance and keep her expertise with him and his new physician. I think the Commonwealth will be well served as well getting a new commission up. She's been through it once before. I'm sure she'll take those skills with her. So Jamie, happy holidays. Please stay in touch. I know you don't actually have a building yet in the city, but when you do, please make sure you come in and say hi to us and we can take you out properly to say goodbye. Excellent. Thanks so much, Eileen. And Brad, I know you didn't get a chance to work with Jamie very long or I don't think you've actually met her in person because she had the injuries. So it's giving you an opportunity to say hello, check in, but I know you had some interaction with her helping you out getting started. I have had a lot of interaction with her and I think Eileen said it well when you're a new commissioner to have somebody like her be there on your side and to get you through everything, which she has done an amazing job of doing for all of us. I appreciated it and I just wanted to say thank you and I wish her the very best of luck. Excellent. And then I'll turn it over to the chair for words because I know the chair and Jamie just worked so closely together and so seamlessly. So I do think Jamie will turn to the link. I did try to persuade her to come on board at least to hear, but she also has an appointment today and I want to share that. She really has enjoyed her position from behind the scenes as everybody commented, but I think what's really important for Jamie to hear today is that I know publicly I have often said at the end of meetings, you know, without Jamie and then Marianne, none of this would the gaming commission would not be an adhesive compliant group. Jamie has such great insight as to what is right and that's what I had such complete confidence in her from navigating, you know, our scheduling and being able to get back to both internal and external people, but also I'm keeping our time. She's so precise about because she understands that we work with a Commonwealth and that we have a duty to keep careful records of our time, keep careful record of our public resources we access. That understanding of really the core ethics of state government will be so valued by the post commission. And he asked commissioner Zuniga was really smart, but he knew all that Jamie could bring because he also was the beneficiary day in, day out of her just superb professionalism. On the flip side, probably a fault of mine would be a late in the day call to Jamie and it might be one short work matter, but there was a lot of chit chat for me because Jamie can just make you laugh. And I know that even because working from home and if I were busy fixing dinner or something, I would have it on speakerphone. And my husband would say that must be Jamie because she just made me laugh. And I'm going to miss that terribly. The dog stories, right? Eileen, so many dog stories, but also talking about television shows and just remembering that we're colleagues and human. But I relied completely on her professionalism from our scheduling, our time keeping our reimbursements. She just understands that core function. She also went from doing, I think historically to commissioners of one, I think it was simply the, my predecessor, Steve Crosby, to now at one point serving five. And she did that really seamlessly and something that I often emphasized that she was doing the job, the confidential job of being our single at the time, administrative support and professional on behalf of five of us. So I know she's going to a bigger commission. I'm not sure she's going to one that will have the probably as demanding as us in terms of our schedules, but I suspect it's going to be complicated. She's going to be up for it. And I think she's going to have fun. It's going to be really interesting work. So I love that she's getting new opportunities for growth. And she'll have those managerial responsibilities. Awesome opportunity. But I am truly going to miss you, Jamie, as I've said already too. So thank you. Thanks everyone for recognizing Jamie today. I don't know if chats, if people want to send something, but I know that Jamie also coordinated with you constantly when you needed a commissioner involved in your work. She's been so accessible and fluid. And, you know, for that, she's really, you know, been that presence behind the scenes that keeps things running. So just want to say again, thank you. Any team member who wants to chime in, certainly carrying this to the opportunity. Well, once again, I'd like to jump in if that's okay. And Jamie was like the wizard behind the curtain for me and my team. You know, when I was stuck with not knowing how to get something accomplished or how to best way to convene a group or where certain documents were maintained or how to get something before the commission, you know, without fanfare. And, you know, just in the seamless way, she was able to always point me and my team in the right direction. So I will miss you, Jamie. Thank you for all that you brought to the commission and what you brought and the way you brought it. And good luck in this new endeavor. Anyone else? Okay. So, Madam Chair and commissioners, the next item on the agenda is an update on the voluntary self-exclusion program. We've got the team and the office there. I see Mark and Scott and Long. So I'm going to turn it over to them. Katrina is unavailable this morning. I know Scott was already prepared to present on this. So I'll turn it over to them for an update on what's been going on. Yeah. Thank you, Erin. And good morning, Madam Chair and commissioners. Before I start, if I could just say just really briefly to Jamie, who I know was at least as a commissioner, but I wouldn't be fumbling as a go-to for any staff that really needed her, including myself, when I had no clue about how to do something she certainly didn't have. And Austin, who had this unpaying ability to both be a huge help to me and at the same time, give me a hard time while I'm doing this. I think I'm going to miss that, Austin. Anyway, good luck. I'm going to talk to you about the voluntary self-exclusion program. The voluntary self-exclusion program, it's a statutory mandate and it is intended to allow persons who struggle to control their gambling a voluntary option to exclude themselves from the gaming floor for a pre-determined amount of time. I always say it's that the external control that is there to help people who may struggle with that internal control with their gambling. We launched the voluntary self-exclusion program in 2015 to coincide with the opening of Plain Ridge Park Casino. Since that time, it's been a critical component to our overall approach to mitigate problem gambling in Massachusetts. Just a couple key points to that. We did an early evaluation of the program back from 2015 to 2017 and we found that enrollees, after they enrolled in the program, significantly reduced the frequency in the amount that they gambled. And enrollees also reported fewer gambling related problems and improvements in mental health and relationship quality. We currently have over 1,000 people in the program. In fact, the latest report was 1,020 people are actively enrolled in the program and we have about 1,300 people who have ever been enrolled in the program. Meaning they were on the program the pre-determined amount of time that they were enrolled, expired, and they completed a reinstatement session and were removed from the list. I want to say that these numbers of enrollments are impressive and it's a milestone, but I also want to say that it represents just a small percentage of the number of people that we know in Massachusetts struggle to control their gambling. I think that we should be proud that we have a program that is there to honor and support a person's decision to stop gambling. And as we move forward with the help of Long and the entire NGC team, we will continue to grow this and look for better or creative ways to make sure that people know of the program and ease access to that. So to that end, about enrollments, a vast majority of people enroll in the program with our Game Sense Advisors at the casino. In fact, 83% of people who enroll in the program do so through a Game Sense Advisor at the casino. When in March of 2020 with COVID, we reevaluated how people were able to enroll in the program. We launched the program requiring that it be a face-to-face interaction with COVID. We reevaluated that piece of it and introduced an option for people to enroll remotely, meaning that they would be with a smartphone, with video capacity enrolled from anywhere, with a Game Sense Advisor. And that's a small number at this point, but we've noticed, especially over the past couple of months, that the number of people enrolling remotely has continued to increase. So that's the first update. The second piece, and this has been, I think, a really nice collaboration between the Research and Responsible Gaming Division and the IT Division, especially I want to call out Katrina and Scott. Scott has been really important in developing this piece of it. So on January 10th, after probably at least a year of development, we'll be launching a new voluntary self-exclusion web application. This application will function as the official list that's shared with authorized parties that can receive that list. This is important, and it's been important for a couple of different reasons. We launched, as I said, we launched the program back in 2015, and we since that time had been building it off of an Excel and Excel spreadsheet and Excel program. I think it's safe to say that we've outlived and outgrown that Excel spreadsheet, and so migration over to this new program is incredibly important for it. The new VSE application will provide an overall better, more efficient user experience for those rolling and unenrolling, as well as by the end users that need access to that list. The new application will vastly expand our reporting capabilities. It'll allow us to create, generate, and download robust reports so we have a better sense of who's enrolling the program in real time. I think this will be important when we think about how do we market this program? How do we, what do we understand about persons who are enrolling the program? And finally, and I think this is an increasingly important piece of any direction that we go with new technology, is that it has overall improved operational security. It allows us to assign, create, and manage individuals and the permissions that they have within the list. We also submitted this application for security penetration testing. The report that we got back after, after a while indicated that we received a grade A rating which ensures that we've configured the maximum security level for the VSE application. That's where our IT team and that's where specifically Katrina and Scott have been so important to make sure that this, that this program is as secure as possible. Long bond over the past couple of weeks has been working with our game sense advisors, working with each of our licensees to roll out a training so that on how to use the new program. It's relatively easy to use. It's built that way, but we want to make sure that on January 10th it's rolled out and starts, goes off without a hitch. So I really appreciate Long has only been with the commission for a little over a month, but has been taken that, that key role in rolling out this new program. So thanks to both of these individuals. Thank you to Katrina, who I know isn't here today, but this is a really important program. And it's really important we do this, do this right to make sure that we're serving those in the commonwealth who struggle with family problems. Thank you. Anything from Scott? I just want to make sure he had an opportunity that you wanted to comment on, Scott. Mark covered the technical points with the security Okay. Okay. So we're all set. Stay away from speaking. So, okay, I just read what Scott gave me because the security has, I know it's very impressive work. You know, turn it over to commissioners if they have any questions or comments about the BSE and the new program. I think Gail has something here. Mark, how are you? Listen, and the whole team, you know, what I, what I, and just listening to this update, it just, it just hit me that what makes us different, what makes your team different is the fact that no matter what the responsible gaming efforts are, whether it's play my way, game sense, you know, and now we're hearing about self exclusion, you are constantly evaluating and improving. It's not just here's the program. It's there for someone to use. It's how do we make it better? How do we improve? How do we give the best bang for the buck or the most help to those who need it with all of our programs? And I just, and that goes for the research as well. Always evaluating how can it be more effective? What do we need to research that, that would help, you know, the residents here of the Commonwealth. So I just, I think it sets us apart. I really am not aware of another program that is so vigilant about improving it, improving, you know, how do we evaluate properly and improve the services we're providing. So just another example this morning of how you and your team are doing that. And you have the whole team with you, which is always impressive. So just a big thank you. And I think it really does matter to those who have availed themselves. And that's a great number of people with all the programs of these services. So thank you. Thank you very much. Other comments, Eileen or Brad? I think Mark, I'm correct in that the state auditor did examine the VSE program and was very impressed by all that we had done without this new improvement. So with the additional security, the expansion of the numbers all really reflecting the good work that your team is doing. I just think, like Gail said, it's just continuing improvement. But by chance, your program was subject to that review. And I know the state auditor was impressed with both the substantive and program and the process. So it's nice to see us moving in the right direction technically. Scott and Katrina and team, thank you so much for that good work. And Long, thank you for, I see you there. We haven't heard from you, but I hasn't really only been a month because it feels long that you've been here. Yeah, it's about, yeah, almost two months now. He's made a big impact. So great. Thank you. Thanks so much. Okay, Karen, anything else? That concludes the administrative update. Do you want me to go right into the hybrid, flex of remote hybrid work policy? Thank you. Okay. So as the commission is aware, the commission voted and approved a pilot policy for flexible and remote working arrangements. That policy was in place on November 1st when we came back to the Boston office. And it was effective through this the end of this month, December 31st, 2021. That document is in your commission packet for reference. At this point is up to the commission, how we move forward on an indefinite basis with our working operations. I think it's important to note that while the pandemic was the impetus for the remote working that not only this agency undertook but agencies across state government and in the private sector, the adoption of this hybrid policy is about work operations and what's best for the commission going forward. We of course, will be monitoring health metrics and can respond accordingly as needed with anything related to the pandemic. But this policy today is looking for a long term plan for the agency and how we're going to move forward. The feedback from the staff and managers at the agency along with the collective judgment of the return to office working group is supportive of the hybrid model, particularly where it pertains to retention and recruitment of employees while still recognizing the value of in person working both for individual work product and for the culture of the agency. So, you know, you have the packet. I have gone through it. There are a few things. If this were to be implemented on a long term basis, just a few comments for the commission one, you know, we would obviously take out pilot program. My recommendation is that we would substitute that with the fact that this would be effective January 1st of 2022. So we have continuity with the policy. There is one other one other item in here I noted on the first page under the definition of hybrid work. That's about the hybrid work arrangement allows the employee to do all a part of their work day or work week at home or another location away from the MGC offices. Because the policy requires at least two days in the office for line level employees. I would recommend that we just tweak that language to say that a hybrid work arrangement allows for employees to do all a part of their work day or part of their work week at home just so it's consistent with what it says in the rest of the policy. And other than that, there is language in this policy on page two that indicates that currently the MGC recognizes the need for enhanced flexibility to do the due to the COVID pandemic that's relevant now that may not be relevant in the future. Hopefully that may be something that we could modify the policy going forward. I'll just highlight that. But other than that, the commissioners that were on the working group, Commissioner O'Brien and Commissioner Cameron are available to comment on the working group status. And the only other question I had for the commission as I was going over this last night, currently should the commission approve the same type of policy people have submitted their requests and they have been approved and those things have been documented. The question I have is would we need to resubmit or could we rely on prior submissions? So that's just one question I had for the commission and we could do it either way. But that's sort of teeing it up for you commissioners. You know, I'll defer to the commission on however they would like to conduct the discussion today on the policy. And I don't know, Madam Chair, if you want to hear from the other commissioners in the working group, but I'll defer to you, Chair, on how you'd like to move forward right now. So it's my understanding that Karen would be seeking not just a consensus from us but a vote to approve the program. And I'm not hearing any significant change in the program being recommended at this time. Karen, you feel as though the team has been able to navigate the policy as presented in the pilot. Correct, correct. Commissioner O'Brien, Commissioner Cameron, do you want to help educate Commissioner Hill and I based on your work on the committee? I think that Karen outlined it pretty accurately. I mean, there was essentially unanimity on the working group in terms of how effective it was dealing with this new post COVID reality. I asked specifically if there was any incident that they could identify a work either not getting done, not getting done timely, anything like that. Nobody has had an experience like that. So it does seem to adequately address what is right now the reality of the post COVID work world in terms of getting our work done and retention. The only other thing I would point out logistically in terms of memorializing this from a pilot program into the personnel policy manual is probably because of the hybrid option and the remote option, we're not focusing as much on people asking for compressed work weeks. And this section that we're talking about voting today to potentially incorporate in would replace what is now section 1.15 in the manual, which is the workplace flexibility section. And there is a paragraph in there that is dedicated to the compressed work week that is still relevant. And so in addition to getting rid of wordsmithing things like pilot program and the effective date of Jan 1, we also just need to take a look at that section and make sure that as we override the existing workplace flexibility section with this document, we keep so much of that compressed work week sections addresses things that are particular to that. Namely, if you're taking a day and you're scheduled to work a 10 hour day, you're supposed to make up the difference of either vacation or sick with the appropriate number of hours. If you have a holiday, the expectation is that you would then have to still make up the difference if you had a 10 hour day versus a 7.5 holiday accruing that sort of stuff is still relevant to this. But to me, that's something that we can do. Obviously, when we put pen to paper to actually override this section with the draft pilot program, but in terms of the substance, I think everyone in that group agreed that this was a good balance between getting the job of the agency done. It worked like balance and acknowledging what the reality on the ground is with COVID at this point and going forward. I don't know if Commissioner Cameron wants to join in. Yeah, thank you, Commissioner. Yeah, and like I say, working as part of this group, what I have continued to be impressed with is how in touch the directors are or have reported to the executive director exactly what's happening with their work groups and have found unique ways to be very effective while working in a hybrid model. So I just think it makes so much sense to continue indefinitely with this model. And of course, like any policy, it's as good as its implementation. And so far, I just see great evidence that it's being implemented appropriately with real concerns for the agency's needs as well as the individual's needs, which are so important in a time like today. So I see it working very effectively. There's always like any other policy, it's a living, breathing document that may need to be adapted at some point. But I feel strongly that we should adapt this policy and, you know, delete the fact that it was temporary and really look to implement this as a policy, moving forward with the ability to change at any time. So great work from the team and being sensitive to what this agency needs as well as what the individuals need. Commissioner Hill, do you have any questions for our colleagues? I don't have any questions. I, first of all, thank you to the working group who put a lot of work into this. And I know that you did. And I know what these were asked. One of the issues that I was concerned with early on regarding this proposal was the public availability of the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I'm not sure that what happened could be due that the people of the Commonwealth would still have access to our agency in a very clear and deliberate way. And I have been assured after talking to the managers and to the fellow workers here that that does happen and that there hasn't been any issues that if somebody really needs us, they have access to us. And that's my, you know, was my main concern that you should have the people that have the people of the Commonwealth had access to. So, for example, if you know you need to get a license, you're going to get that license in a very timely fashion. If you make an important emergency yard, that doesn't seem to go to an issue, which I'm happy to hear. Thank you for bringing forward any concerns that I may have had about this regarding public availability to the agency itself. I've been alleviated, and I could be very supportive of moving forward with my fellow commissioners on taking, I think, the word, pilot out of this proposal. As far as the, was there a particular question, Commissioner Hill? Just in terms of the public access generally. That's really important. I think that, you know, it's important to always remind ourselves that we are public servants. We are a public agency, and, you know, we work for the people of Massachusetts and that we need to be available. What I've heard from the staff, which I found very heartening, is that people are always willing to say, hey, you know, we are appreciative of this hybrid option. But if you need me to come in for a commission meeting, or you need me to come in for this, I'm absolutely going to do that. And that makes me feel good about the quality of the staff members that we have, that they're engaged and they want this to be successful. And also that they recognize that this hybrid policy and being able to work remotely is a privilege that they appreciate and would like to keep. And so they're willing to make it work. And I think that's been really helpful. And that just showed the quality of the people that we have working here. And I feel that as a manager, because I know, hey, if we need something, we're going to come in. If there's a big project, if there's, say, some legislation that passes next year, and we're going to need to be engaged in working on that, maybe a little bit more in the office, that I feel like people are on board to do that and be a team. I think Commissioner Hill's point is a good one. Yes, it's so important to pay attention to our needs, but it is about, are we serving the public's needs? And I think a couple of examples, Commissioner Hill, you told me you were out in Springfield yesterday. Not only meeting with the licensee, but people see and know that you're there. So that's an indication of the fact that we haven't forgotten of our responsibilities. This morning's presentation about, you know, our responsible gaming efforts and how we are making that more user friendly for the public and those individuals who may need those services is another example of our agency being responsive to the public and what those needs really are. So I think anytime we can be reminded of that, it's a good thing. And it's something we should pay attention with every decision we make. How does it affect the public? Any further questions or comments, updates? Thank you, Commissioners of Brian and Cameron for your work into the working group. It sounds as though that working may not need to convene at this point too frequently on this topic. As you said, Karen and as Loretta said, we continue to monitor public health trends and let's just all really hope that we're able to continue implementing this policy that we hope to adopt today. I'm very positive about 2022, but we all know that these trends are a little bit concerning right now. So keep this policy separate and apart from, as Karen pointed out, the pandemic issues. So because it's an exciting opportunity for just a new way of how we work with the added flexibility of being home and the benefits of being together. So I guess I need a motion. Certainly, Madam Chair. Thank you. I move that the Commission approve incorporating the currently identified pilot program for flexible and remote work arrangement into the Human Resources Personnel Manual in place of the current Section 1.15, which is titled Workplace Flexibility. As discussed here today, specifically making sure to continue to include so much of the compressed work week section, as is still relevant. I have a second. Second. Thank you. Any further questions on this? Okay. Commissioner Cameron. Aye. Mr. O'Brien. Aye. Mr. Hill. I'm sorry. I think he disconnected. Yeah, he's right next door. I'm just realizing that if he's got an issue, he can come in here because we're all looking. His just went down. A few of us have been stuck into my office. We can take a break, but if you just want to step into my office, that'd be great. Well, he's coming right here. Hold on. He's here. He's no dummy. He knows how to handle problems. Walk to my office, but that's okay. Sorry. A few of us are experiencing technical challenges today. Okay. One more for Maxing out on our bandwidth. Commissioner Hill is in here. I'm going to need him to say a sentence so that the camera will move towards him. Hello, Madam Chair. I have moved. And so we have, Jen, so you may not have heard. We had a second from Commissioner Cameron, and then Commissioner Cameron and Commissioner O'Brien have given their affirmative votes as eyes. And I am a yes. Thank you. And I'm a yes as well. I guess I don't know if it's Todd and Kerry who are helping out today, but for zero. Thank you and great work. It's exciting, exciting opportunity to have. And thank you to the entire team for really making it work. All right. Now, Commissioner Hill, we can't see you, but I don't know. He's going to head back to his office. He, I think it's back up and running. Just continue. Just continue on. I'll be joining you shortly. I don't want him to miss the next introduction. So let's see. Okay. Yep. The good thing is we're all in various stages, so we can see it as it's happening. So that's the irony. This is where it will be great when we can get the technology where we cannot sit together. It will be great. All right. Joe, are you in the office today? I can't tell from your background. No, I'm working remote. Okay. Shout to you as well. Let's see if he has success. I don't want to continue without him being on the record. Thank you, Chair Manger-Cullen for your patience today. You're really getting up a good taste of our work. Let's see. Am I on? You're on and now you're, yeah, you're on. We'll just see if Crystal is working her magic with Commissioner Hill's technology. Okay. She helped me this morning. Karen, you watched her in action with the screens and figured it out, so. Yeah, she's quite good. And I can check there because if that, if for some reason that's an issue, we'll just have to come back here and he can do it out of with the al-camera here. You really can't just join me. It's not quite. It's a little weird. A little bit. Other than the other time when we were in parallel universes one time, this is our longest sort of snafu. So since March of 2020, he's good. Yeah, good. I got the thumbs up from Crystal. We should have success momentarily. Crystal, I don't quite see him yet. It was one of those loading, loading. We're waiting on it to 99 to 100. So Gail, one of the things that got brought up yesterday during our tour out in Springfield was that the Red Sox wouldn't be doing their winter visit there as they did two years ago. And of course, it's has to do not necessarily about COVID, but that's a factor, but also the strike or the mockout. I mean, so that's exactly right. I hope that ends soon. So yeah, great. But it shows people. I think, well, I think sports got a lot of people through the pandemic and brought joy and excitement to their lives and would be unfortunate if this extends for any period of time. Right. Right. So, you know, I saw that and I know that it was such a good economic driver. So if not this year, hopefully next year they come back for that. Okay. And now we do have Commissioner Hill. Yay. We didn't want you to miss one bit. It's my pleasure now to move on to item number four and an update really from our gaming policy advisory committee and the associated subcommittees. Many of us haven't really ever gotten a full update on on that important part of 23K. That structure was envisioned by the legislature to make sure that we had advisory input from other stakeholders. And I'm pleased that this year we have a whole complement of the subcommittees activated. You're going to hear about that. And it's also my pleasure to introduce to my fellow commissioners and to the entire team appropriately, Chair Meg Angel-Kohen who was appointed by Governor Baker, I think now, almost two years ago, Meg. Yeah. And just briefly, for those of you who don't know, Chair Maincher-Kohen is the longtime president of Back Bay Association. While we think about our tenure, or Commissioner Cameron's in particular, tenure being long, Meg has served in her role as president of the Back Bay Association for 21 years. Since the year 2000, before that, she was the CEO of the Somerville Community Corporation. And prior to that, she had an important role in public relations with the downtown crossing partnership. So she has been a key advocate voice and leader for communities. And so it's very understandable that why she was appointed to this role. I wanted to have introduced you to Meg. She has had a great success of convening, and you can correct me, successfully, is it now four or three, three G-PAC meetings without a problem of having a quorum, which had been a challenge. I think we will give the point out that virtual capacity helps that. But I would also say very much that Meg's leadership has really strengthened the role of G-PAC in its agenda and has really energized that committee. And so it's my pleasure to introduce Meg. And Meg, I'd love for you to update the commission. And then my fellow commissioners may have some questions or comments for you. Thank you so much, Chair Jed Stein. And it has been a tremendous pleasure participating in G-PAC for the past year and a half or so. And little did we know the impact that COVID would have on all of us. And now we have had three successful meetings in part because of our ability to meet virtually. First from our kitchens, now I'm, believe it or not, at the office. Okay. Sorry, I just got my screen changed. Anyway, so as you know, the Gaming Policy Advisory Committee currently includes the following dedicated members. We benefit from the expertise of Senator Eric Lesser, Senator Ryan Fatman, Representative Anne Margaret Ferrante, Representative Angelo D'Amelia, Victor Ortiz, who's the director of the Office of Problem Gambling Services, Commissioner Helen Colton, Harris Division of Health and Human Services for the City of Springfield, Brian Lang, representing organized labor, Paul Picnelli, representing Region B, and of course, Chair Jed Stein, who represents the Commission. As Kathy mentioned, we have held three meetings, all virtual, in 2021. And the committee recently approved the research agenda for FY22, which is an examination of legalization of sports betting in the United States. Other items we've tackled this year is that we received updates on post-pandemic casino reopenings, community mitigation, racing integrity, sports betting legislation, and other policy areas. The subcommittee began reporting about the important work. The subcommittees have been reporting about the work that they are doing. I had the distinct pleasure of being part of the first Addiction Services meeting that I got to chair and in which Mark was appointed chair of the Addiction Services Committee, so that was great. We are planning for a meeting in late February or early March of 2022, which I loved the way it was described that Jamie works with the Tetris in scheduling the meetings because Crystal's been doing the same thing with us, and it's been really a pleasure working with her. It's also been a pleasure for me working and interfacing with the Commission itself because the care and concern that you are bringing on all of these issues, I'm just totally impressed with it, especially the important issue of human capital and the way you just sort of lauded former and current employees at a time when retention is so important. I've never been on a public meeting that provided such care and concern and kind remarks for employees, so I wanted to thank you for that. So we are still early on in our agenda because we've only been actively meeting for the past year as a cohesive group and as chair, so it has been a pleasure for me to both get to understand the issues, especially the charter that founded the GPAC. As I've said at prior meetings, the thought and care that went into making sure that the state of Massachusetts administered the gaming policy in a smart, thoughtful, healthy way comes into play in a lot of what the GPAC does, and so I want to thank you for the opportunity to just touch on those areas and just thank everybody for the work that you're doing for the Commonwealth. Before we go on, I do want to acknowledge Crystal. Crystal has been really instrumental in supporting your work and being the connector for the members, as well as supporting the subcommittee, two of the three subcommittee work, and she'll go on, but I also think she was probably instrumental in helping us on the PowerPoint. Crystal, I intended to do that earlier and my apologies, but before we go on, Crystal is okay if commissioners ask, Meg, any particular questions or how do you want to proceed? Because right now I can't see your face, so. Yeah, absolutely. We're going to skip to subcommittees after this, so any commissions or any questions at all about the GPAC itself would be great to jump in. Commissioners, commissioner, chairman, for sure, Brian, commissioner Hill, do you have questions for chairman Cullen? I see Gales, Anne. Thank you. I don't have a question, but I have a big thank you. Meg, I found it interesting that you were thanking our commission and all the members of our commission for helping you, assisting you with your work, but frankly you volunteered to do this and it's critical to this commission. We make better decisions because of the advice of the GPAC and the work that you put in. Now you're out visiting all the casinos and you have a busy job on your own, but yet you're willing to do this for us and it's really appreciated. The work is really important and I'm glad you find it interesting, and if we can assist in any way, of course, but you're the one volunteering and I'm just grateful that you're chairing this committee and you're so interested in all the issues. I just see all the learning that you've done to prep yourself, but we're the beneficiary, so just a big thank you. Thank you so much. It really is, I really am enjoying getting to further understand this issue and I have been interested in gaming for quite a while. We have done it, we did do a site visit to Springfield and we're hoping to do another one this upcoming year. It really brings the tactile experience of actually being in one of the casinos and watching people, you know, how they interface with the different machines and the energy that's created. It's really quite exciting and so I do, I very much enjoy it and I have, you know, I've learned a lot working with Kathy Judstine. She's an amazing of the gaming commission and she spends a lot of time. I get to get a few laughs with her as well, so I very much appreciated that and we worked with Jill Griffin and now with Crystal and that has gone, that has been a seamless transition also, so I do want to say that and honor that human capital, the work that everybody's doing. So thank you for that. And I do want to say that I know it's that if there are any other questions, I welcome them, but I do have a final task, which is to introduce the next item on the agenda. So I can't see because of our format, but Commissioner O'Brien or Commissioner Hill, did you have any questions from Meg? I know Commissioner Hill, Meg gets to work with some of your former colleagues. They're all great people. Yeah, they are. Okay, then your next task, Meg, thank you. My final task, I do want to say wish everybody a happy holidays, but it's now my pleasure to hand it off to Mark Benderlin and who, as you know, is the Director of Research and Responsible Gaming at the Mass Gaming Commission, but he also is the new Chair of Addiction Services, the Addiction Services Committee. So, Mark, I hand it off. Thank you, Meg. And I really have enjoyed working with you in the capacity that we have. So thank you so much. The Addiction Services Subcommittee is a subcommittee of the Gaming Policy Advisory Committee. This is the newest subcommittee of the three that are out there. We had our very first meeting on October 14th, and this was after we were fully constituted. We have five members, including myself. We have Marlene Warner, who is the Executive Director of the Mass Council on Gaming and Health. Victor Ortiz, who is a member of the overall GPAC, but he's also a member of this Addiction Services Subcommittee. Victor is the Director of the Office of Problem Gamble and Services at the Department of Public Health. We have two governor appointees, Yoyo Yao, who is with the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, and Dr. Rudy Vega, who is with the John Snow Institute for Research and Training. An excellent group that bring varying perspectives, but all contribute. Our overall mission, as required in statute, is to advise the Gaming Commission on regulation as it pertains to problem gambling prevention and treatment or intervention. So with that mandate, when we met on December 7th, we identified some areas that we would want to focus on moving forward, and those three focus areas are listed on this slide. One is to examine casino marketing practices and explore recommendations to prevent practices that target vulnerable populations. The second is taking a look at third-party exclusion. So I mentioned earlier, I spoke of voluntary self-exclusion. Third-party exclusion is basically exclusion of an individual, but that process would be launched by a family member or a loved one. And so we're looking at the methods of implementing that process. And then the third really is overall in thinking, both short-term and long-term, of how do we use this amazing research that we have in order to inform activities that this group could latch onto and shepherd forward to recommendation to the Gaming Commission. So we're working closely with Marie Claire to help kind of pull some of those out of the over 50 research reports and studies that we have on our library. So more to come on that piece of it. But it's a good group, and we plan to meet again, I think, it would be late February or early March. Thank you. Great. Thank you, Mark. It's been really, really very interesting sitting in on those subcommittees. The G-PAC, I felt like I was getting a hold on over the last couple of years, and then boom, addiction services. So technical. All right, now I would like to bring Commissioner Hill up to the front of the screen and give him a chance to go over community mitigation. Sure, we've been discussing the Community Mitigation Fund quite a bit recently, so I'll be very quick with my fellow commissioners. But during the year, there were four meetings held, three of them before I got here. And then when I was appointed chair, we held one late in the year. Starting in May of 2021, we, the commission reviewed the results of the 2021 Community Mitigation Fund Grant Round, discussed issues facing the Community Mitigation Fund, and as a result of those discussions, starting around September and into November of this year, we met and to provide input on outstanding policy questions, we reviewed and we commented on the draft and final CMF guidelines. And as you know, we voted on those after a really what I think was a very good process with the commission and certainly the staff and those in the on the subcommittee. Region A and Region B, our local Community Mitigation Advisory Committees also met four times and they provided a lot of input on the development of the 2021 CMF guidelines. And most recently, and I want to give some kudos to Joe and Mary who set up and had a very, very constructive informational workshop on Tuesday. Over 100 people actually attended the workshop. And during that workshop, there were some very good questions that were asked of us moving forward on what would be allowed in an application. In applications, as you know, do it at the end of January and then starting in February, the staff will start looking at those applications moving forward. But I think what came out of that workshop and we kept hammering at home is the fact that Joe and Mary are here for anybody to ask questions. We're willing to help, you know, with them to find projects for this program. But again, 100 people was more than we ever expected. We were happy with that, certainly in the presentation that was given was just second to none, really and truly. So unless Joe and or Mary want to add anything to that, that would be my little update on the Community Mitigation Fund and the subcommittee. So thank you, Brad. I think you covered it very, very well. Thank you, Brad. Okay. So we have one subcommittee left to get a little bit of an update on and Commissioner Bryan will give us that message. Thank you, Crystal. So the Public Safety Subcommittee met once last year in May. We went over several of the reports that to the reports assessing influence of gambling and public safety in mass cities and towns. And then on relative to Uncle Watson Harbor and then also for Springfield. The committee consists of seven members. Technically, there is a vacancy with state police right now that they're in the process of replacing someone who retired. It is myself, a member of EOPS or a Designate Executive Office of Public Safety, state police, AG's office, the Mass DA's Association, Mass Chiefs of Police, and then a representative from the labor unions. The meeting, the fall meeting that we had scheduled for this was delayed. We were going to go over the report that we're going to be putting out shortly on OUI influences from the casinos. That was delayed. It is imminent now. So we'll likely be on the agenda for the next meeting in 2022, which I anticipate will meet ideally quarterly in 2022 to discuss not only that and other reports that are coming out, also the community mitigation fund public safety grants that will be assessed in coming out, but also talking about what regulations if any of the committee may want to make recommendations on in terms of sports betting or online gaming, if and when the legislature does in fact move on that. Talk about the anti-money laundering practices that we have been doing, IB in particular has been doing, and then also ideally doing a post mortem on a criminal case. There have been a few criminal cases relating to the integrity of the games, and I was hoping to invite also the rep from the AG's office or one of the people that answered him in terms of giving a post mortem to the group on that to see if there's anything that we would want to dive into for a deeper discussion. And just to close it out to give a thank you to Mary Thurlow who has been providing the support for the committee up to this point. I know she's passed off to Crystal, and Crystal's taken it over from here, but I didn't want to move on without giving a thank you to Mary Thurlow because I know up to this point she has been the one handling all of the organizational efforts for that. So thank you, Mary. Thanks Commissioner Ryan. I did just want to say I have, as Commissioner Ryan just stated, just begun working with public safety, and I'm looking forward to doing that. But I've worked really closely with Chair Mainzer Cohen this year, and the passion she's had, just diving right like dove right in amidst the pandemic, but also just in a virtual realm with a crew of new people. And she has been interested in asking questions and really responsive the entire time. So it's been really great to work with you, Meg, and I look forward to next year as well. I think that's it, unless there are any questions that the commissioners or anyone else has that we can address. That would be great. Crystal, maybe so to go back to either Mark or Commissioner Hill or Commissioner O'Brien. Any, you'd be asking each other questions. Commissioner Cameron, do you have any questions? I do not. I think both commissioners for engaging in these really important topics, and of course those who participate in the committees, they've been there for us from day one, and it's much appreciated. Yeah, and I want to pass on my gratitude to, first off, Mark, congratulations on being a point of chair. That's a nice leadership role for you, and I also know that you really have wanted this outside input. You really have an appreciation for as much as you lead in this area, how much you can benefit from the external input, and you've got really nice subcommittee now to gain from. With respect to Brad and Joe and Mary, that information session was excellent. I think you're going to achieve what I think the ultimate goal was to build capacity and really support the application process. Thank you, Commissioner Hill, for leading that. I also have a sense that you really are enjoying it, so that's an extra bonus. And then, Commissioner O'Brien, thank you for what you just outlined as perhaps a quarterly cadence. I think it's the right time for that, and I know that you'll be able to really generate real good activity around that. So thank you, everyone, and Meg, thank you. Happy holidays to you. I know December is really busy for the Back Bay Association, so we appreciate your taking time today and starting your morning with us, so thank you. Crystal, excellent. Thank you for that update. Okay, great. So we're moving on then. I'm just looking at the time. Unless I just have a little bit of a challenge because only one side of my agenda printed. Let's see. Crystal, here's my, thank you. This is the benefit. She hears my, uh-oh, literally from across the way. Thank you. But I thought we were turning next to Alex. First off, should I ask, commissioners, are you all set to continue or do we need a break? Okay. Michelle, Brian, you're okay? Mr. Hill? Mr. Cameron, I see you. All right, and we'll move on. I know that Steve O'Toole has joined us, so I look forward to moving ahead. Good morning, Dr. Lightbaum. Good morning. I wanted to take a brief moment to thank Austin and Jamie for the great work they did with me and the racing division. They were a great help and wonderful people to work with, and I wish them well as they move on. I have Steve O'Toole with me, director of racing for Plain Ridge with the updated schedule. As you remember when he came in for the licensing hearing, he mentioned that he would be bringing a new schedule in eventually. So today we have that schedule. The timeframe is the same as the one that was originally put in for April 11th through November 25th. They are swapping the Fridays for Tuesdays. As anybody who commutes knows, the Friday commutes can be challenging, so there's the idea to try that and see how that works. They're also not going to race on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. That had been something that folks had mentioned to Steve, that that was a difficult day, the day before Thanksgiving to race all day and then try to get home afterwards. There are fewer Sundays as well, but otherwise that's what the main difference is in the schedule right now. Steve O'Toole is here if you have any questions. He is on the call. Mr. Cameron, do you have questions or comments? I do have a question for Mr. O'Toole. First of all, it sounds like what you're doing makes a lot of sense as far as altering the schedule to accommodate those needs and those concerns, whether it be commuting or holidays, whatnot. But I was wondering what that race was behind you because I know it's not us racing, so I just wasn't sure if you're watching another jurisdiction during our meeting. I'm guilty. That's Monticello in upstate New York. Great. Thank you for that. Good to see you, Mr. O'Toole. If you'd like, I can comment on the schedule. Alex kind of laid it out pretty concisely of the changes. One of the things this past year, we were disappointed in some of the participation in the field sizes that we had and the cards that we had, so we tried to work more cohesively with the commercial tracks in Maine, Bangor and Cumberland. A lot of our horses that fill out our schedules come from those tracks. Some of the swapping around that we did, as Alex mentioned, travel is an issue for some of those people. I think what we did was we identified a soft spot in August to race a few Fridays where there is no commercial tracks racing in Maine. Over the course of, I believe it's late April or early May through August, there's 100 consecutive days of racing available in the region through those three venues. There's plenty of racing going on. We just tried to maximize the ability to have horse flesh available where there's not some stable sitting on the sidelines because they're at a different track and just can't participate. We laid it out as best we could in the timeframe provided the 33 weeks from April 11th through November 25th which has been approved and those dates which are definitely suitable for racing. Thank you, Steve. You will need a vote from us. Correct, Alex, on that? Yes, please. And Alex, I'm not hearing any concern you have with the proposed schedule and you would recommend the adoption, correct? Yes. Thank you. Okay. Do I have a motion or any further questions? I'm assuming no further questions. Okay. I'm happy to move that the Commission allowed Plain Ridge Park Casino's request to amend the previously approved racing schedule for 2022 racing season by approving the schedule contained in the Commissioner's packet. Okay. Okay, Commissioner Cameron. I thought I had heard a second. I'm sorry. And you delayed so I wasn't sure you heard me. So I okay. Thank you. So, Commissioner O'Brien second and I've heard a vote affirmative and Commissioner Cameron and now Commissioner O'Brien, now Commissioner Hill. Hi. And I vote yes. So for Zero, thank you so much and thank you, Steve. One other thing, Madam Chair, if I may. Yes. We're pleased to announce too that we worked out a couple of new state races into the national calendar on April 28th. We're going to offer the Paul Revere pace, which will be a $75,000 early closer for three year old open pacers. And on May 16th, the Battle of Bunker Hill Trot, which will be also a $75,000 early closer. And that's open to three, that's an open pace for three year old trotters. So we're really pleased that those fit into the national calendar. We worked with the Hamiltonian Society to work these into the national calendar and they fit very well. We hope we get some nice participation. And we know we don't like to put too much on top of the spirit of mass day, but we did stay with the spirit of mass theme in naming the two events. Nicely done. Can you give me the April date for the Paul Revere race? It's April 28th. It's a Thursday. Right. Thank you. And nice to get a congratulations on that, Steve. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you. Now, Steve's staying on, but the other matters, yes. No? No, Steve O'Toole is finished now with his item for today. Well, the reason why I asked is because I wanted to make sure we pass along our good wishes for the holiday season, Steve. And thank you for all that you did this past season to make it a successful one. Commissioner Cameron, did you, were you raising your hand? I was not, but I would echo that we wish Mr. O'Toole's team a happy holiday to the whole team. Hope to see you soon. Very much appreciated and the same to the commission as well. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Okay. Moving on to your next item then, Alex. Okay. Our next items all deal with Suffolk Downs and Chip Tuttle, the COO for Suffolk is on the call today on the video. So the first item is the request for the 2021 premium free period. That is part of Mass General Law 128C section two, number five. And they've requested the days of October 9th through December 31st. And I would ask the commission to approve this and it does require a vote. Good morning, Mr. Tuttle. Greetings to you, Madam Chair and everybody and welcome Commissioner Hill. Very nice to see you. I'm imagining you must have met before. Oh, yes. We share North Shore routes as well. That's right. That's right. So very nice. Any questions for either Chip or for Alex on this matter? I know it's one we're familiar with, but this is our chance to ask any clarifiers. Commissioner Hill, you may, I know you had a little bit of a briefing. Yeah, I'll set. Okay. So I know you need a vote today on this, this matter. Yes, please. Do I have a motion? I'll do one. I move that in accordance with chapter 128C section two paragraph five, the commission recognize a 12 week period from October 9, 2021 through December 31st, 2021 as the period the topic bound has selected during which no assignment passed in premium need. Second. Thank you. Any discussion, questions, comments? Okay. Commissioner Cameron? Aye. Mr. O'Brien? Aye. Commissioner Hill? Aye. And I vote yes for Sarah. Thank you. Next item, Alex. So the next item is the subject down to request for the 2022 premium period. And again, it's the same period October 9 through December 31st. And I do think the commission should approve that and ask for a vote. Any questions for Alex or Mr. Tuttle on this? Okay. Then if I could have a motion. Madam Chair, I'd be happy to move in accordance with chapter 128C section two paragraph five, the commission recognize the 12 week period from October 9 through December 31st, 2022 as the period that Suffolk towns has selected during which no simulcasting premium need be paid. Second. Any questions, comments? Okay. Commissioner Cameron? Aye. Commissioner O'Brien? Aye. Commissioner Hill? Aye. And I vote yes for Sarah. Thank you. Moving on then to the third item. That's the subject down to request for approval of their simulcast import locations. There's a December 6th letter in the commission packet that lists those locations. And I recommend that the commission approve those locations. It does require a vote. Has everybody had a chance to see that? The locations? Okay. I know I'm looking and not looking. I'm thinking people would say yes. Everyone had a chance to look at. Okay. Excellent. Thank you. Questions for Mr. Tuttle or Alex on this simulcast? Madam Chair, I can give you a motion. Yes, please. I move that the commission approve the simulcast import signals requested by Suffolk Downs for 2022 as listed in their two page December 6th letter and included in the commissioners packet. Second. Wait. Any questions for our discussions on the motion? All right. Commissioner Cameron? Aye. Commissioner O'Brien? Aye. Commissioner Hill? Aye. And I vote yes for Sarah. And Alex, your fourth item. So the next item is the request for approval of the account wagering providers. All of those have been previously approved by the commission except for the Bet-MGM horse racing. And that one is a little bit similar to what the commission did approve a few years ago, where TVG had been a long time account wagering provider and they had an agreement with FanDual Racing to use the backbone, so to speak, of TVG. However, the staff would like a little bit more time to look for more information on the Bet-MGM before we move that back to the commission for approval. So today I'm recommending that the commission approve first bet, which used to be ExpressBet, TVG, Twin Spires, FanDual Racing and Niagara Bets as account wagering providers for Suffolk. And then at a future point, we'll bring back Bet-MGM after staff has been able to gather more information. Understood. Is there a timeline on that, Alex, or Mr. Tuttle, that we need to focus on if that were to be approved? Is there a particular deadline? I just want to be aware of that, Alex. Yeah, so I don't, I mean, we certainly don't have a timeline, Madam Chair, you know, whenever the commission is comfortable to echo a little bit of what Alex said. These are account wagering service providers, our ADW providers have found that operating under multiple brands or, you know, or changing their branding, you know, that is a marketing device that's helpful to them. So TVG, which has been doing business with residents of the Commonwealth under our license since 2000, or 2001, I believe, you know, operates both TVG and FanDual Racing, right, as Alex said. And that's through an agreement with FanDual, the company's share ownership. ExpressBet and First Racing, you know, operate under two brands, although they're moving toward the first first racing brand. Similarly, Naira Betz, which, you know, has been operating as one of our service providers and processing wagering from citizens of the Commonwealth, you know, has asked, Naira Betz has a national licensing agreement with MGM so that Naira Betz is actually the operator and the back end service provider of this MGM branded ADW platform. And so what Naira Betz has requested to us and to the commission is that it can operate both brands in Massachusetts at some point. I believe they are ready to launch as soon as the Bet MGM horse racing brand as soon as the commission approves that. So, you know, we're obviously happy to work with the commission or whatever your timeline is to make sure that you are completely comfortable with that licensing agreement and that brand operating here in the Commonwealth. That's really helpful. Thank you. Questions for Mr. Tuttle on this matter? So recognizing Dr. Lightbaum's recommendation, do we have a motion? Do we shall ride? Certainly, Madam Chair, I move that the commission approve the following account wagering vendors as requested by Suffolk Downs in their letter of 12th, 2022, namely First Bet, TVG, Twin Spires, Fan Dual Racing and Naira Betz. Second. Second. Thank you. Any questions? All right. Mr. Cameron. Hi. Mr. O'Brien. Hi. Mr. Hill. Hi. Can I vote yes. Karen, if we could monitor that with Dr. Lightbaum and I guess probably IEB too, there might be some questions there around the licensing. Just kind of keep a timeline. Yes. Develop one. I'm hearing Chip say there isn't necessarily one exact deadline, but we don't want this to, but I know Dr. Lightbaum won't let us let it shift off the calendar. So we'll just stay on it. Chip, I think that that probably concludes your business with us today. Happy holidays to you and yours. Yes, and happy holidays to you and your fellow commissioners and staff. We once again had an enjoyable year working with you through thick and thin of COVID policies and things like that, but we're hopeful that 2022 is a better year and we continue to look, as I've said publicly in prior commission meetings, we are continuing our operations at 525 McClellan Highway, but if we have news about a new location sometime in 2022, we will be certainly, you'll be among the first to hear. So we continue to work on that. Thank you so much. And again, best wishes for this holiday season in the new year. Thank you. Take care. Okay. Dr. Lightbaum, do you have anything further for us today? Nope, that's all. Thank you. Okay. Excellent. Nice work, as always, Alex. Thank you. Then we're moving on to the licensing division. Madam Chair, actually, if we could just take a break right now. Yes, I'm sorry. Actually, it's a notation. My apologies. Well, is this not a lunch break? If we could have 15, actually, just to stretch my legs and I don't know, I need to eat a little something given our end date and our later afternoon itinerary. Yeah, well, definitely. I'm getting a little bit concerned about that as well. So let's take a 15 minute break now. We may have the opportunity to have a little bit of a lunch break depending on where we land. Okay. Thank you so much. Austin, you're still at work. So we will reconvene at 10-12 now, 12-05. Does that work for everyone? Okay. Thank you so much. I will not press leave the meeting. Thank you. Austin, if you can take down the resume, I'll be able to see who's back. Good. Thank you, Austin, for that. Mr. Cameron, it looks like you are situated in your office. Our fabulous IT team was able to get me up and running. So I'm grateful. Okay. That's excellent. And that's not surprising. Yes, Karen. Karen, I'm having a little issue. It says you cannot start your video because the host has stopped it. So I don't know what that is. I've never seen that before. You see that, Austin? I'm not the host. I switch owl to my office. Oh, here we go. Austin must have turned up your video. There we go. We're good to go. Was that what happened, really, Austin? Oh, you could turn off. I got it. Oh, okay. I was just joking around. Perfect. Okay. Good to know. Great. Then I think we can get started. We're going to move on to item number six of our agenda. We are resuming from a break of public meeting 363. We'll just confirm. Commissioner Cameron, you're here. I am here. Commissioner O'Brien. I am here. And Commissioner Hill. I am here. Great. And we'll turn now to Chief Skinner. Good afternoon now, Makisha. Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Chair. Good afternoon, everyone. I have two licensing matters for your consideration today. The first is a request by MGM Springfield for an invention of their multi-media from the service employee registration requirements. The multi-media designer works with the creative management team out of the marketing division and is responsible for design, typography, and layout trends for the visual tools, MGM uses to communicate. Simply put, the person in this position has to monitor the latest and greatest visual effects the industry is using in content marketing. The position is an administrative one with no managerial responsibilities. There's no interaction with the gaming floor and therefore there's no access to secure back of the house areas and no access to confidential or sensitive information. Also, the position reports to the creative manager, which is a position the commission previously exempted from the service registration requirements. So given that all the factors the commission uses when considering a request such as this points to approval, I support the request and recommend that the commission approve the multi-media designer role as a gaming exempt service employee position. Thank you Chief Skinner. Questions for her commissioners? Comments? I'll set. This is I think probably exactly the type of position that the legislature envisioned when they gave this opportunity to the exempt. It's an exciting opportunity. So I think that you do need a vote on this. Natisha, I think the fact that we may not have questions is because you prepare so well. Okay, good. You do need a vote. If we have no further questions for Chief Skinner, do I have a motion already? Madam Chair, happy to move that the commission exempt the multi-media designer position at MGM Springfield from the commission's registration requirements in accordance with 205CMR 134.031B for the reasons discussed today and outlined in the commissioners packet. For the second. Thank you, Commissioner Hill. All right. Again, thank you to Chief Skinner for her good reporting to us. Commissioner Cameron? Aye. Commissioner O'Brien? Aye. Commissioner Hill? Aye. My vote yes. So, four zero on that. Thank you. Thank you. And the second item I have is a gaming beverage license amendment request from Encore, Boston, Harvard. But contrary to the memo in your packet, I will be asking for just a conditional rather than full approval of the amendment. Encore is planning to introduce its Black Tier Lounge on December 22nd. The concept is a space dedicated to its Black Tier Win Rewards members where complimentary hot and cold food will be served buffet style, and beer, wine, and liquor will be served through Butler service to these members. The liquor will be served, excuse me, the lounge will also feature bar top video poker machines. This is not a new licensed area for Encore, but rather a name and concept change. The space was previously known as the Garden Lounge, which is a currently licensed area. There's no jointly responsible person involved. It's just Encore. All the apartment information regarding hours of operation, beverage service, the floor plan are included in your packet materials. Now, I'm asking for conditional approval as you consider this request because the space is still undergoing some minor construction and the alcohol storage area is not quite ready. And neither is the surveillance system. So IEB has not given it to approval of the setup. Of course, I prepared the memo in anticipation of Encore being fully ready, but that is not the case, unfortunately. But Encore does expect to be putting the finishing touches to these items by the end of the day tomorrow. Again, they're anticipating opening next Wednesday. So they are poised to move very quickly. So any approval of the alcohol beverage license amendment that you give today would be conditioned on the installation of the outstanding items to the satisfaction of the Gaming Agents Division and the IEB. And so you'll see the motion captures the constituency. And should the commission approve the amendment, the licensing division would not issue the amended license unless and until the area passes final inspection, indicating that the alcohol is secure and that the premises meet MGC's surveillance security and integrity standards. So that's all I have prepared to present, but I'm happy to take your questions. Mr. Cameron. Chief Skinner, so you're asking for this conditional license in anticipation of the work being completed and our members of IEB being able to get out and physically inspect the floor, make sure it's up to standards. And then at that point, our conditional approval would become a full approval without the commission having to move on this matter again. Is that what I'm understanding? That is correct. That is correct. I think, you know, what's driving presentation of this amendment this way, commissioner, is Encore's desire to open up on the 20th. And that's next Wednesday. And, you know, they are moving very swiftly. I was out there visiting yesterday. They are really close to completion. The Gaming Agents are standing ready to go out for a final inspection as they get the call. So I think, I really think it wouldn't work this way without having to pull the commission together again for a meeting. And again, the amendment would not be effective until IEB gives the green light. Okay. I know we have given some conditional approvals in the past, but it sounds like you are confident that the work will be done in an appropriate fashion. And again, IEB will have the final discretion of approving the layout and storage. Correct. And, you know, just if Encore does not meet IEB's requirements at final inspection, then the license amendment would not be issued. Can you see the additional step of the signing of the certificate? Nakisha, that you coordinate with me. Commissioner Cameron, you know, I sign off on the actual certificates for this. So in terms of process, I'm comfortable if we have an email that Bruce and Loretta sent to all of us saying that these conditions are met, and then Nakisha would coordinate with Jacqueline to have the signature on that certificate. Because I think it's the certificate necessary. Is that the final step? It is the final step. And as you noted, it's signed by you, Chair. Licensing wouldn't even present it for your signature until we got the go-ahead that the final inspection has passed. So it's not a situation where we would have you sign it and pass it on to Encore, you know, and rely on them to make it effective. It wouldn't even have been it. So my point was really Bruce and Loretta could send an email to all of us, and then Nakisha, of course, too, could come from IEB, Nakisha and Bruce and Loretta, and then Nakisha would coordinate the execution of that certificate if all the conditions were affirmatively met by them. Unless we could, and we are nimble, our word, we could reconvene before the 22nd, if necessary. Madam Chair? Yes. So I was going to ask that very question, is there a process in place where we could come back before our next meeting and vote on this? Because I actually would feel more comfortable doing that if there is a process set in place for that. We can certainly mark up a commission meeting as early, well, as late as Tuesday afternoon, assuming the commissioners would be able to be available virtually to act on this Nakisha, and the beauty, that is the beauty of having this remote capacity, correct? I also know it's Christmas week and I don't want to be putting people in situations where they're going to visit or leaving the state, but I did want to know processes in place for that. Commissioner Hill, that was kind of a consideration, just vacations schedules, not really knowing. This is why we decided to present it this way, but of course, if the consensus is to convene another meeting, that's the route we'll take. Can I just ask a question, Nakisha, about when you look at the diagram they submitted in support of the application, the hours of operation ended either midnight or 2 a.m., and yet they designate their hours of permitted alcohol services 8 to 4. Is that because the overarching license we've given them is 8 to 4, but that this venue is still no later than 2? That's how I interpret that, although I'm not 100 percent certain that their main license, the overarching license, they are permitted to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. The slide is very specific to this space, so I'm looking for a little clarity on is it really 2 or is it 4? If it's 4, is that so that they change something? Do they have to come back to us via you or are they free to change something without coming back, given that reference to 4 a.m.? In the application itself, Commissioner O'Brien, they do list the hours a Sunday through Thursday, 2 p.m. to 12 a.m. and Saturday, 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., but they reference their service of alcohol hours of permitted service. They list as 4 a.m. in their attachment, so hours of operation and hours of service of alcohol don't line up, so I guess I'm just looking for some clarity on that. I can get clarity. My thinking is that it's referencing those the hours 8 to 4 is referencing the hours that they are permitted to serve in the gaming area, and they do have those tabletop poker machines in this area, and so I think that they certainly have the flexibility to remain open until 4 and because they do have the license to serve alcohol until 4, but I can certainly that's what I'm trying to figure out. Are they still going to have patrons in there potentially drinking until 4 or is it stopping at midnight or 2? Is it unclear? Are they reference their storage and security automatically shutting off at 4 a.m.? And yet it's midnight and 2 a.m. for the actual hours. We can get clarification on that. Thanks. Right now I don't have anyone who has eyes on our schedule on this meeting. Crystal, perhaps you would be the best person to look at. I don't know if Crystal has access to all four at this point. Do you have? Madam Chair, I believe we have a town hall Tuesday afternoon at 2.30 in the afternoon. That's right. And perhaps we could have a quick meeting after that if there's a better comfort level with that. I know I'm not available before that. You're not available. That's before the 2.30 town hall. Commissioner Hill, what about you? Because I know you might have. Are we looking at the 22nd? The Tuesday, the 21st, Brad. Thank you. Bear with me one moment. I want to make sure that Crystal can see our calendars for moments like this. I would be available then as well. After the town hall. You know what, Nakisha, your plan was a good one because I think we could work with, as Commissioner Cameron, we could work with a conditional approval. But it sounds like there's already a couple of, it is a good question that Commissioner O'Brien is raising because I couldn't tell if it meant that we're authorizing them to four because that's what they've had or if we should actually only authorize them to two because that's what they're expecting to do operationally. Is that really what you're sort of asking, Commissioner O'Brien? Right. There was just inconsistency. So it felt like there was ambiguity in exactly what they're at the audience. And does that two to four AM window is one that raises, has raised questions for us in the past? So we're a little bit, we think about that, that two hour window pretty carefully. Gaming requirement to get the alcohol, you know, so I didn't know how that would work and that's right. Right. So we'll get clarity on that and then we'll be able to do a final approval. And if they need it by Wednesday, we can get everything lined up for that approval and finish off the certificate and everything to make sure they're all set. If we give them the go ahead so that they can meet their, you know, hoped. I would feel more comfortable doing that, Madam Chair. And I, sorry to have brought it up, but I just think it's okay. It's fine. And there's a couple of questions as it turns out. So if everyone's free right after the town hall, which is scheduled to end at 3.30, sure we could do a meeting then. What do you think, Madam Chair? I think that really works nicely. And again, it's not as though the process could have been done, but it works. And thank you for everyone being humble about that. All right. I'll have to check my schedule for Tuesday at 3.00. I was just going to ask you that. I'm just kidding. I can't possibly be missing the town hall. So, but I do know that you have to check yours, but if you're not available, I'm assuming that Nevada or somebody else could cover for you knowing that you'd be doing all the work though. So thank you. I am available, Madam Chair, and we'll plan for that. Are there any other questions or a need for clarification on anything else? I guess my only question would be if it is the four o'clock request because of that requirement of activity, like how are you satisfied, right? And I'm satisfied that that could be monitored and complied with. Okay. Can I just add on, and I think you probably already understand this, but I want to clarify for me, the concern would be right now, that space they could go to four. And it's just really important for us to understand, I guess that they really are anticipating only to two. I'd like to be able to bring that certificate back. You know what I mean? And not grant flexibility for them to just. Yeah. No, my question is the garden lounge, do they also have machines in there where people can be gaming or is it just food and beverage? So the current license, they are only, they're permitted hours of service is between eight and two. Right, because there's no gaming. So they, that's the question that they had is that it seems to ask for the extra two, but we need to know about, well, what's the gaming going to be and what's the monitoring to make sure people are actively gaming to not, you know, yes. Okay. That's really helpful. Thanks. Any other questions on that one? Mckisha, it complicated your life a little bit, but thank you so much. Loretta, are we all set on that? I know you came on on your video, so I just wondered if you had any. No, I think we're all set. I think it's a good course. You know, I think we wanted to bring it forward today, given the construction schedule, and I think it's absolutely appropriate to bring it back. One, to answer Commissioner O'Brien's question, which is a valid question, and two, to bring it back, you know, post inspection, you know, when the IB has had a chance to look at both the camera coverage and the storage. That way, too, we can ask Bruce questions that, well, he and may give a thumbs up to the surveillance and the storage. There are many times, Commissioner Hill, where we do ask Bruce questions about that, so it is a good plan of action, so thank you. Yeah, construction schedules sometimes, you know, we find that there's just this huge flurry of activity right before completion date, so really that's what drove us to bring it forward today and, you know, perfectly appropriate to bring it back when it's completed. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you, Mckisha. Are you all set now, Ben? I am all set. Thank you. Okay, excellent. Thank you. Then we're moving on to item number seven. Good afternoon, Chief Delaney. Good afternoon. Thank you, Madam Chair and commissioners. So today, before you, we have a request from the City of Everett to repurpose some of the transportation planning funds, grant funds that they had received in 2017. It's just under $35,000 and it's to study some bus lanes, provision of bus lanes on lower Broadway. And just a little bit of background. In 2017, the City was awarded a $150,000 grant to study the addition of a bus-only lane on the west side of Broadway from Sweets of Circle down to the Boston City Line. And as you probably know and remember, Everett has been really a leader in trying to provide bus-only lanes to try to improve commuting times for their residents who don't have, you know, access to a vehicle themselves. And it's been very successful, so they really want to try to expand that. Also, in 2019, we awarded another a joint transportation planning grant to Everett and Somerville to study a possible extension of the Silver Line from where it currently ends in Chelsea through Everett to Sullivan Square and to points beyond. Both bus lanes or Silver Line would use that dedicated space on the road, so they are actually very similar as to what they're looking for with particular right-of-way. Now, more recently, as was mentioned earlier today by Karen, you know, Encore has proposed a development across Broadway from Encore Boston Harbor. And as part of that, they have agreed to donate a strip of land to the City of Everett to account for bus lanes in the future. So, I mean, that's good news from Everett and from the MBTA standpoint that they would have some additional right-of-way to work with. So, basically what they're asking for is the original bus study came in under budget for various reasons, but they had asked even back then if we could sort of hold on to that money if they could find a reasonable way of repurposing that on something complimentary to what they had already done. And we did agree to do that at the time and have been holding that money in abeyance since then. But essentially what they're asking to do is to look at this section of Broadway where Encore is going to provide some additional land and say, hey, can we maybe even do a center bus lane like they're doing in a few other locations around the city of Boston. And it just seems perfectly appropriate to us to do that. So, we are asking that the Commission vote to approve that request of funds from the remaining from the 2017 grant for the purposes we've just discussed. Do we have any questions for Joe? I'm not sure if you have the advantage of discussing, but this sounds like a plan consistent with Everett's priorities. Yeah, Commissioner Hill, in your work with Joe, anything you want to add? No, I think this would be a great project if it comes to fruition quite frankly. So, I'm hoping that these funds will help get us to where we need to be in that regard. Yeah, it seems to be on trend, right? Yep. So, no questions for Joe? All right, you need to vote today. Yes, please. Do I have a motion? Madam Chair, I'll make that motion. Thank you. I would move that the Commission approve the city of Everett's request to use $34,950 dollars 53 cents remaining from its 2017 transportation planning grant to develop alternatives for the installation of a bus lane on lower Broadway, as described in the memo contained in the Commissioner's packet and discussed here today, and further that the Commission staff be authorized to execute all necessary grant instrument commemorating this award in accordance with 205-CMR 153.04. Second. Thank you. Edits, questions, comments? Okay, well done, Joe and Mary and Lily. Commissioner Cameron? Aye. Commissioner O'Brien? Aye. Commissioner Hill? Aye. And I vote yes for zero. Thank you. Thank you very much. Today's agenda and its diversity just really highlight the work of the entire team. So, you know, we can't thank all of you frequently enough. So, moving on now to Councillor Grossman and Councillor Teresee. Good afternoon, Madam Chair and Commissioners. You have two draft regulations in your packet today 205-CMR 134.01 related to key gaming employees and 134.02 related to gaming employees. As you may recall, we brought these draft regulations to you in early October and you voted to begin the promulgation process on these changes on October 21st. Public hearing was held this morning presided over by Commissioner Cameron. We received no comments at that public hearing. We've also received no written comments on these proposed regulations. The amendments allow the licensees to bring in key gaming employee or gaming employee staff from sister properties for a limited time period without requiring licensure to assist with training and other similar functions. The existing regulations, as they are right now, allow for this in emergency situations only and the amendments remove that emergency situation language so it can be done on an as needed basis upon approval by the IEB. That limited time period is for 60 days with the option for a six-month extension upon approval by the Commission and the regulations state that there can be no more than one extension for the same person or position in an 18-month period. So if you have any questions or happy to answer those and if not, we'd be looking for a vote today on the amended small business impact statement and the final draft of the regulations to file with the Secretary of State and finalize the promulgation process. So this is the end of the process. That's right. So we've been able to navigate this. Are there questions that haven't been addressed previously? Commissioner Cameron, thank you for presiding over today's public hearing. Happy to do so and I'm also happy to move. No comments today, so thank you. Okay. I move that the Commission approve the amended small business impact statement relative to the amendments to 205CMR 13401 and 13402 as included in the Commissioner's packet. Further, I move to approve the amendments to 205CMR 13401, 13402 as reflected in the packet and authorize the staff to take the steps necessary to file the regulations with the Secretary of the Commonwealth and to proceed with the final regulation promulgation process. Second. Any questions on that? Okay. Commissioner Cameron. Aye. Commissioner O'Brien. Aye. Commissioner Hill. Aye. Aye. Yes. And Carrie, thank you for all the good work and Todd, thank you. Probably don't always appreciate all the steps that need to be done in order for the regulation to finally be in place. So thank you so much. Next, do you have the business impact piece? Did I miss that? You have to do two. I think it's two separate motions. It was incorporated in her language. Okay. That's what I wanted to ask. And that's okay. Yep. That works. Great. Thank you. I thought that's what I heard Commissioner O'Brien and I thought, I don't have the motions in front of me. So thank you. Great. Then we're all set on that piece of work. Moving on to counselors. Thank you. Now moving on to the regulatory process that Karen and Crystal, thank you so much. Regulatory review. I think we had the legislative update first. Whatever order you want to do it in. No, it's my eyes. I'm legislated in legal and it's the same order. So number nine, legislative update. Thank you. No problem. Hi, Crystal. Thank you for this. Good afternoon now officially. Yes. Just happy to provide a brief legislative update for you guys today. I'll just kick it off. Let you know that on December 13th, the statehouse did move into their second phase of reopening and vaccinated employees are now beginning to work in person. So we'll see a little activity over there. The first formal sessions, as you know probably, ended on November 17th and the official last day of the first session is technically January 4th. So we'll move into the second annual session beginning January 5th and end on July 30th. Obviously the main emphasis of the second session will be the budget. We'll see a lot on that. But some important dates for us to include and just keep an eye on will be watching for changes to the extension of the open meeting law provision that ends officially on April 1st, 2022. So we expect to see some updates on that. And the deadline for late files to amendment proposals is May 11th. So we'll also be keeping that in mind, put that on our calendars. For next session, the agency filing deadline would be November 2nd, 2022. So that's for us to be able to file anything directly as the agency itself. Important date for us. We have that on our calendars as well. We do continue to monitor sports betting. I know that's been a big question in the first session. It was passed in the house, but we'll wait and see what happens in the Senate. And as we move into the next session, we are watching some other bills. Well, of course, like I said before, there are several bills out there addressing the various components of the open meeting law and whether to continue using remote access and the impacts for especially municipalities. A lot of those bills are municipal bills, but we'll continue watching those. There's also a particular bill that would have impacts for the Gaming Commission regarding veterans organizations. That allows them to operate up to five slot machines on the premises. We do have our eyes on that. Another bill which directs the Gaming Commission to issue a request for proposals to implement a statewide area network of video lottery terminals is out there, and we are watching that as well. Two other gaming bills that are slightly, there's been a little movement. We had some hearings on them. One offers a fourth category one license, and the other allows a category two licensee to host up to 30 table games and an additional 250 slot machines. So we're watching those. And there are still two racing bills that we've been tracking, Alex and I, as well as others. And as always, we're making sure to usher the extension of the live racing deadline, which I believe is in July. So looking forward, we've also just begun some discussions on opening up channels and communications with the right the right constituents and legislators to address a couple of items of specific interests of the Gaming Commission, especially clarification of regulations related to charitable gaming and suggestions for revision to chapter one racing in those efforts. I'm thrilled to have Commissioner Hill's guidance and look forward to working on further development of those legislative initiatives with his great expertise. It's been really good to have some of that feedback and insight. So any particular questions regarding any of the dates or proposals? Todd or Brad, do you want to add in great report, Crystal? Very helpful. Anything, Todd or Brad? No, I think Crystal covered everything. Very good. Great. So as Crystal alluded, we are lucky to have former Representative Hill's expertise on these matters and he will be sort of helping lead this monitoring. Great. Nice update moving on now appropriately. I think item number 10, the regulatory review process. Karen and Crystal, thank you. Yes. So we just wanted to give a quick update to the Commission on where we are with this. It was very interesting because aside from the fact that Commissioner Zaniga has departed and he was part of the process here, we also identified as we're going through the process that it was becoming, it was unwieldy. So I would like to credit the Chair for suggesting to me that it would be a more efficient process if we proactively had the heads of each division to self-identify what regulations were relevant and do them on a rolling basis. So implementing that, she also recommended working with Crystal who I'm very impressed with because she has put together sort of an electronic submission protocol. So there's an electronic form which each division head can fill out and submit the forms and then we have an internal tracking system. So this process, we will go through those six, five points that the areas or the goals for evaluating the regulations, which is one, to ensure the regulations are clear, well-written and understandable. Two, to eliminate duplicative or contradictory requirements. Three, to eliminate unnecessary and minimize overly burdensome requirements. Four, ensure reporting requirements are necessary and provided information is actually used by the regulatory agency. And five, eliminate barriers to equity and inclusion. So now that we have a system for collecting the information, once that electron form is submitted the monitor, which I expect to probably be Crystal, will review the form to determine a working group for key stakeholders. So once we've identified areas where we would like to potentially conduct changes or a further regulatory review, appropriate stakeholders, internal, and then we can get external comment from the licensees or other interested parties would be available to comment on those proposed changes. And then we would go through the similar to what you just did at the legal division, any kind of regulatory review process with you go through the regulatory promulgation process. So that's sort of where we are. I just want to give you a heads up that creating some efficiencies. I think it's changed our direction a little bit and hopefully we can get this done a little more quickly. I will be also working with Crystal to develop a training seminar for the executive staff that are going to participate in this on how to fill out the form, how we're going to do this, how to submit, and hopefully then we would just track on an ongoing basis the regulations that are submitted. So just want to give you a heads up. That's where they are. If any commissioner has any particular regulation that you would like staff to look at, please just email me or contact me directly. If there's you through your course of your work, you see something you're like, yeah, we should take another look at that. If you want to identify that for me, I can then prioritize that and we can accelerate the review of that particular reg as you desire. That's, I don't know, Crystal, you have any comments? I do want to thank you for creating the electronic form because I think that's going to make my life a lot easier in managing this process and I wanted to thank her for her help on that. Thanks, Karen. No, I have no comments to add. I think that we planned to send the commissioners the actual link so they could see what the process looks like themselves. And as you said, we'll be setting up a training and obviously you guys can be part of that if you're interested in just seeing how that's going to go. Okay. Any questions? Okay. Excellent. Thanks for the update. So now we're turning to commissioner updates and interestingly enough we've really gotten on time. Crystal, I have just two brief updates. Does anybody else have a commissioner update? Okay. Real briefly, during the legal meeting that we have every two weeks, I think. No, it's every week. I mean, and I meet with Todd and Karen. Todd updated us on the SFI designation process. I don't think that we haven't necessarily had this issue come in front of us. But it occurred to me that it may not be clear who can actually approve that and whether it needs to come before us or before the executive director. And I guess I would just say that unless I hear from the SFI designation was just to be clear because I'm using an acronym, the statement of financial interest that chapter 268b, the conflict of interest law, requires major policy makers to file those statements. Unless there's not a consensus here today, we could take more formal action, but I'd be really comfortable having the executive director have the authority to work with Todd and team on that designation list. And I bring it up today because I know Todd has a deadline coming up. So I don't know if you if Gail, you have a historic memory of that process or anything, but I think I see it as something that that would be very much in the approval process of the executive director. I didn't get a chance to talk. I thought about last night as I was going through my checklist. I knew it's always been the general counsel who has kind of pinged us as to when those deadlines are. Yes. And I think in conjunction with the executive director of those designations, those individuals were advised when they met, when they when they moved or elevated to the position where they would need to file. Yeah, I should have clarified. So general counsel Todd and I don't know if he has any of the members of his team helping him, but there he does all of the management and is involved with directly with the ethics commission's nice infrastructure that they have. That's why we're getting the pinging. But it's the actual designation list of who is subject. Correct. Yes. Yeah, I agree. I am agreeing. And I think that's it has not been the commission that has made those designations in the past. So I agree with you that the executive director in conjunction with the general counsel would be the appropriate way to move forward. Any questions on that? Do we need to do anything more formal on this or is everyone okay? We're comfortable with that. Good. And the only other thing, this is a little happy note. Many of the team members are off. But for those of you who are in on your days, Crystal and long did such an excellent job setting up the McHugh conference room to display the mementos that are now available for pickup to honor the 2020 recipients of the McHugh award. And I did get a chance to pass along a note to Judge McHugh to Commissioner McHugh to say that right now that conference room is reflects the energy and all the values that he represented and embodied. It's there's humor there. There's honor and acknowledgement and it's lively. There's some snacks. And I do hope that this is a chance for those who are in the office to stop by say hello to those of you know of us who are on the 13th floor vice versa and take time to have fun, get your picture taken and remember to celebrate all the good work that you did in 2020. And we'll be looking forward to making that decision for 2021 at the town hall. So again, lots of imagination. I think I heard that Todd said, Hey, what's going on in here? So lots of activity in that corner. So thank you for that, Crystal and and along getting it going. Anything else? Now we do have an executive session that we anticipate going into. But I think it makes sense that we probably have a lunch break. But I think I'd like to do this because we would be ending our public meeting if we decide to go into the executive meeting now. And then we could have a lunch before we commence our executive session from a different virtual rule through your your link. If we go if we move forward on that. So just as a reminder, the law does require me to read the rationale for an executive session. And then we do need a majority vote. Correct, Todd? Okay. So right now the commission anticipates that it would meet in executive session in accordance with GL chapter 30 a section 21 a three to discuss strategy with respect to litigation related to the confidentiality of certain documents and information as discussion of the subject matter at an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the litigating position of the commission. And in accordance with general laws chapter 30 a section 21 a seven to evaluate a matter relative to non disclosure agreement between the commission and when mass LLC pursuant to GL chapter 23 K section 21 a seven and 205 CMR 139.02 as discussion of the matter in a public form would frustrate the purpose of the statute, the regulation and agreement. As I mentioned, the public session the commission meeting will not reconvene at the conclusion of the executive session if we so vote. So in order to move into executive session, I do need a motion to that effect. So moved. Second. Thank you. Any questions on that for Todd or me? Okay, Commissioner Cameron. Hi. Commissioner O'Brien. Hi. Commissioner Hill. Hi. And I vote yes. So I think if you wouldn't mind just so that we really get this right, we will leave this room, we'll re enter will enter the new room, and then we'll break for our lunch. If that makes sense and hold our our our executive room open. I think that's the smoothest way to do it. I suppose we could just go into it. I think I'd like to do it that way if you don't mind. So I'm not suspending the executive session from this point. All right. So we don't do a motion to adjourn. I'm going to leave this meeting and thank the public who's going to particularly thank the team. I know we'll have a chance to wish everyone well for the holidays at our town meeting. So thank you for all the good work today. And we'll move into the executive session room and then have our lunch break. Thanks, everyone.