With a tough reelection campaign looming in the fall, has Gov. Deval Patrick started tacking to the left?

It’s a question local developers and companies, already concerned about the high cost of doing business here in Massachusetts, should be paying close attention to.

I am no political scientist, but common sense indicates the governor needs to shore up his left-leaning base, which has grown disillusioned with some of his more centrist policies.

First there is Patrick’s sudden shift on expanded gambling. Although a supporter of resort casinos, the governor indicated last summer he was ready to cut a deal under which slot machines for racetracks could also move forward.

Given House Speaker Robert DeLeo has two tracks in his district and is a big supporter of the racino concept, such a compromise is clearly needed to move a gambling bill forward.

But now, just a few weeks before lawmakers are expected to begin debating a major gambling bill, the governor is calling for a new study on the issue and dancing around a possible veto of legislation that includes racetrack slots.

It’s no coincidence the move comes after some of the local liberal party stalwarts, including former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger and former Gov. Michael Dukakis, have launched a crusade to derail the budding gambling bill.

On the environmental side, Patrick Administration officials are weighing, over the loud objections of local developers and businesses, sweeping new rules related to stormwater runoff.

Under plans being considered by state environment officials, everyone from developers to local hospitals would be on the hook to put in expensive new stormwater runoff systems, whether putting in a new parking lot or just adding a few spaces. The aim is to prevent dirty water from running off pavement into local waterways, but the new rules, as proposed now, would apply to just about everyone, whether they are 100 feet or 100 miles from the Charles River, contends NAIOP Massachusetts, which represents local developers.

On both issues, local businesses should brace for a good wallop to the wallet.

Regardless of your feelings on casinos, the collapse of gambling legislation will mean the loss of potentially hundreds of millions in revenue lawmakers will have to find somewhere else.

And, in a state like Massachusetts, you can guess where they will start looking for the missing cash.

Meanwhile, the stormwater issue may be a sleeper right now, but it could mean billions in new costs for local developers, institutions and companies, NAIOP Massachusetts warns.

The good news is the governor will eventually have to tack back to the center in order to beat his likely Republican challenger, Charlie Baker.

The bad news is that it could take months – and a few billion in extra costs for the state’s hard-pressed business community – to get there.