BOSTON - "The timing is right" local legislators said on Tuesday for state elected officials to finally approve bringing casino gambling to Massachusetts.

"I think the goal is to finally get this passed and put people to work," said state Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein.

She thinks legislative debate on a gambling bill could begin in the first or second week of September and Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray confirmed that tentative schedule in a joint statement released on Tuesday.

"Expanded gaming will create thousands of construction and service jobs and support our ongoing efforts to create and retain jobs in the Commonwealth," the pair stated.

The 155-page legislative proposal detailing how gambling would work in Massachusetts is being reviewed by a legislative committee. It calls for locating three casinos - one inside the I-495 belt, another in Western Massachusetts and one in Southeastern Massachusetts.

Casino proponents would be required to invest at least $500 million in their project and pay an $85 million license fee.

The legislation allows for one competitively bid slot machine gambling proposal to be proposed for review and sets up a Massachusetts Gaming Commission to oversee casino gambling.

Reinstein is a member of DeLeo's leadership team and shares representation of Revere with him. She said gambling is poised to move through the Legislature's review process with DeLeo, Murray and Gov. Deval Patrick in favor of casinos.

"The timing is right to get something moving forward," agreed State Sen. Thomas McGee. "A lot of issues that were differences seem to be more clearly worked out."

Suffolk Downs earlier this year unveiled its plans to partner with Caesars Entertainment to potentially invest $500 million to $600 million in a Suffolk casino straddling the East Boston and Revere line with the track continuing to offer live horse racing.

"Does it make sense to choose Suffolk? 'Yes' for a lot of reasons," McGee said, noting the construction jobs a Suffolk casino would generate as well as permanent work.

But he said legislative debate over casinos should leave the Legislature out of the casino site selection process with gambling legislation laying out broad parameters for how casino sites are chosen.

McGee said he favors language in the proposal initially set for legislative review calling for "massive investments" by casino proponents.

Some of that money must be spent on transportation improvements, including road and mass transit upgrades around Suffolk if it ends up being a casino site, he said.

"It's in the interest of people operating a casino there to make sure people can get in and out," McGee said.

In her 13 years as a legislator, Reinstein said she has fought to bring casinos into Massachusetts to offset gambling dollars leaving the state. She also pushed, along with DeLeo, to allow slot machines into Wonderland Greyhound Park.

The track has since closed but the gambling legislation includes allocating money to aid individuals who lost their incomes and jobs with the 2010 closure.

"We know this (casinos) is not a golden egg but we're in a down economy. We want people to spend their disposable income the way they want to," she said.

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