Shutterstock
A majority of state senators in New Jersey are co-sponsoring a bill that would end smoking at Atlantic City’nine casinos.
A majority of Assembly members have done the same, with two more backers added just this week.
Gov. Phil Murphy has said repeatedly that if such a joint bill reached his desk, he would sign it.
So what’s the holdup? It’s politics, Jersey-style.
Each bill first would have to be voted out of committee in Trenton — and that won’t happen until Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin allow for such votes.
In June, Scutari told statehouse reporters, “I don’t think people should smoke indoors” — before adding that the issue as it relates specifically to casinos is a complex one.
“There’s more to it than just: ‘Do I think people should smoke indoors?’” Scutari said. “I do not. I don’t like smoke. I’ve never been a smoker. But there are economic things, there are other items at work there. We’ve got to work with the industry, work with the advocates.”
Asked about Atlantic City casino executives’ contention that a ban would severely harm their businesses, Scutari replied: “I don’t think it will help. But I think at some point, you’re gonna see something.”
In June, Coughlin said of the possibility of a vote on the casino smoking ban: “That’s something that we, obviously, we’ve got to strike the balance we always have to do.
“Casinos will tell you they’re gonna lose people. And we have to lean somewhere and lean on the side of health care for people and employees,” Coughlin added. “Trying to get that done and figure out the bill that works is something we’re still actively talking about.”
An economic analysis earlier this year, funded by the Casino Association of New Jersey, forecast an 11% drop in the industry’s revenues and the loss of up to 2,500 jobs if smoking is no longer permitted.
In June, however, a reportedly independent study by Las Vegas-based C3 Gaming concluded: “Data from multiple jurisdictions clearly indicates that banning smoking no longer causes a dramatic drop in gaming revenue. In fact, non-smoking properties appear to be performing better than their counterparts that continue to allow smoking.”
Smoking in casinos already is banned in New York, Connecticut, Delaware, and Maryland. Two eastern Pennsylvania properties — Parx Casino and Rivers Casino Philadelphia — have voluntarily elected to go smoke-free, though the Keystone State’s 14 other casinos have smoking on up to half the gaming floor.
Supporters of a ban point suggest the tide has turned for good on the issue as general public health attitudes have changed. For opponents of a ban, a claim can be made that Atlantic City is luring from all over the Northeast gamblers who like to smoke, as one place where individuals who like to indulge in both can do so simultaneously.
The legislative tally in New Jersey now reads 22 out of 40 state senators as co-sponsors of the ban, and 45 of 80 Assembly members doing the same. Assembly members Cleopatra Tucker of Essex County, a Democrat, and Christopher DePhillips of Bergen County, a Republican, are the newest sponsors as support for the ban continues to come from all over the state.
Sen. Joseph Vitale of Union County, a Democrat like Scutari and Coughlin, told NJ Online Gambling on Tuesday that there was no news on the bill’s fate.
“We’re still waiting for it to be approved” for a committee hearing, Vitale said. “It is out of my control, although I wish that it wasn’t. I still believe it will get done — and if it does come up for a vote, we know what the outcome will be.”
Even with such support, however, both Vitale and Ray Lesniak, a lawmaker in Trenton from 1978-2018, told NJ Online Gambling that a majority of lawmakers sponsoring a bill is not a guarantee of passage in Trenton.
“It’s not normal — but it’s not that rare,” Lesniak said.
Asked if the flurry of activity toward a smoking ban would have happened even if a staunch supporter of Atlantic City casinos, Stephen Sweeney, was still Senate president, Lesniak said, “Probably not.” The effort might have been presumed to be futile.
In addition to the ban’s being opposed by casino leaders, Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. and Bob McDevitt, president of Local 54 of the Unite Here casino workers union, are also against it. But smoking ban backers may not need their support, and at this point, they don’t necessarily need more support in the overall Senate and Assembly.
All that remains is to persuade Scutari and Coughlin to allow the bills to be moved to the appropriate committees for a vote on any of the remaining 11 days in 2022 that are listed on the calendar for legislative activity. From there, it could be smooth sailing for the bill.
But if reticence of both legislative leaders to push the issue continues, the casino floors will be welcome havens for smokers for the foreseeable future.
Photo: Shutterstock