The anatomy of economic aid to Atlantic City

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Lawmakers are considering a plan aimed at providing stability to Atlantic City, which is reeling from a shrinking tax base and the decline of the casino industry.

It's not the first time, though, lawmakers have tried to help the resort town.

But it is getting support from the casinos it's designed to help.

Here's a look at how New Jersey has tried to help Atlantic City in the past, how it might aid the resort now and how casinos are reacting.

WHAT THE STATE HAS DONE IN THE PAST

- A massive state-directed assistance program announced in 2010 and implemented the following year that created a state-run tourism district with extra security patrols and sanitation efforts; elimination of the $30 million a year payment casinos were obligated to make to the horse racing industry and creation of the Atlantic City Alliance, a group that used the money to promote the resort.

-Reducing the amount of licensing requirements for casinos to save them money; including letting casino licenses last indefinitely instead of coming up for renewal every five years, and drastically reducing staffing at the Casino Control Commission.

- Using a tax incentive program to help the then-half-built Revel casino hotel project obtain its final financing. The tax breaks were supposed to kick in once the casino reached certain profit levels. But the $2.4 billion casino never turned a profit and the tax breaks never got used.

- Creating a new class of "boutique" casino licenses for developers wishing to build smaller casinos at a lesser price. The law authorized two such projects, but none was ever built.

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The anatomy of economic aid to Atlantic City