State senator seeks money for sex-trafficking victims from horse racing funds
The state’s “grossly underfunded” trust for sextrafficking victims could see a surge of funding under a new budget proposal that would come at the expense of the struggling horse racing industry, which has become a popular target in Beacon Hill’s search for cash.
State Sen. Mark Montigny, who championed the state’s 2011 human-trafficking law, is pushing an amendment to the Senate budget that would redirect half of the funds slated for an account created to support Bay State horse racing to the Victims of Human Trafficking Trust Fund.
The move, Montigny said, could mean “millions” for the five-year-old trust, which the Herald reported last week has taken in just $16,000 and has yet to award a single grant to help survivors of sex trafficking.
The Horse Race Development Fund, meanwhile, has $13 million, and has received $35.3 million to date, thanks largely to the cut of gross gaming receipts it receives from the state’s lone slots parlor.
Montigny also wants to use the diverted money to fund police training and a “johns school” for those convicted of buying sex.
“This fund is grossly underfunded ... and I put this cause against any priority in any budget,” the New Bedford Democrat said.
But the plan is already facing competition. State Sen. Karen Spilka, chairwoman of the chamber’s budget committee, tucked a provision into the Senate’s initial $40.3 billion offering to eventually take $15 million from the horse racing fund to help balance the state’s budget, specifically directing it to environmental and conservation priorities.
In the House — where the horse racing industry has an ally in Speaker Robert A. DeLeo — state Rep. Brad Jones, the minority leader, has proposed diverting a portion of the cash set for horse racing to community preservation funding.
And the industry itself is also looking for resources. The New England Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association wants to build a new $150 million track and equestrian center in central Massachusetts with help from the fund.
Montigny says he thinks there’s an appetite to find ways to funnel resources to battle sex trafficking, saying:
“I understand there’s competition for funds. But I’ve had discussions over the last several years, and every time I’ve talked to (Senate President) Stan Rosenberg about it, every time I’ve talked to (Attorney General) Maura Healey about it, I know people want to fight it. I know the Governor (Charlie Baker) wants to fight it. That gives me some hope.”