Casino reform plan faces uncertain future in legislature

DES MOINES - Key legislators aren't betting on a full-blown gambling debate during the 2015 session over a proposal to authorize Iowa's first smoke-free casino in Cedar Rapids.

A bipartisan plan unveiled Tuesday to overhaul state gambling laws by creating a special license for casinos that don't allow smoking - specifically a proposed Cedar Rapids casino - enacting a 10-year moratorium no new traditional gambling licenses, and sharing more casino profits with non-profit groups and counties that don't have licensed gaming casinos was greeted with some skepticism by legislative leaders.

The proposal is being backed by Sens. Wally Horn, D-Cedar Rapids, and Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan, with the support of Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett, whose city was denied a state license to operate a gambling casino by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission last April.

Proponents hope to offer a gambling reform measure to lawmakers that they say will promote economic development in Cedar Rapids, create jobs and offer a smoke-free casino in Cedar Rapids that will be healthier for customers and workers.

Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, chairman of the Senate State Government Committee, which handles gambling-related legislation, said he is willing to allow backers to make their case to the Legislature even if it turns out the idea does not 'bear fruit.”

'The politics of opening up a vote with legislators siting a casino are very difficult,” Danielson noted. 'I don't think the smoke-free idea trumps some of the other concerns that legislators have about gaming in the first place.”

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said he is skeptical that the 2015 session will produce a gambling debate but he added 'you never know in the world we operate in” so 'it remains to be seen” that happens with the proposal.

House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said he has not seen any proposal in writing other than 'what was in the paper.”

'I'll say the same thing that I told the mayor (Corbett),” Paulsen said Wednesday, 'I think it's a very, very difficult thing for the General Assembly to do.”

During his monthly radio call-in show this week, Gov. Terry Branstad said he was 'intrigued” by the idea of a smoke-free casino.

'It's about the only thing that isn't smoke-free in Iowa now and to me that makes a lot of sense,” the governor said during his WHO-AM call-in show Tuesday night. 'But, obviously, the existing casinos have a lot of clout in the Legislature as well, so it will be interesting to see if they're able to put a coalition together.

'As I've said I'm going to keep an open mind,” the Republican governor added. 'I'm willing to look at different proposals. I've always kind of reserved judgment on any bill until I've seen it in its final form because through the legislative process things can change dramatically.”

However, Branstad expressed reservations about legislation that would impose a 10-year moratorium on new state gambling licenses, saying that's a decision that should be decided by the state Racing and Gaming Commission.

Reporter Todd Dorman contributed to this story.