HONOLULU, Hawaii -- The Honolulu Star Bulletin is reporting that the state legislature may consider allowing casinos to be built on the islands. The idea of allowing casino gambling was suggested by House Speaker Calvin Say in order to pay for free, private, long-term-care insurance for Hawaii resident.

Say wants any gaming legislation introduced in the 2001 session tied to financing of long-term-care insurance to address Hawaii's aging population. Under Say's proposal,

Hawaii residents could buy long-term-care insurance for a fixed monthly fee. That fee would be refunded entirely by the state as a tax credit or tax refund on annual state taxes. The state would pay for that credit by using the proceeds from land-based casinos licensed in each of Hawaii's four counties.

The operators of the four gaming licenses would pay the state a percentage of their annual gross revenue. Interest from that revenue would go into a trust fund to be used by the state to finance the insurance tax credit. The minimum bidding for these four gambling licenses could be US$100 million, guaranteeing millions of dollars in revenue for the state.

Say hasn't discussed the proposal with the House majority caucus, which has already rejected a bill by Representative Jerry Chang (D, Hilo) for shipboard gambling that dedicated nearly all the revenues to education.