Smoke-free casino bill gets hearing, little more

DES MOINES - A House subcommittee spent about 15 minutes Tuesday hearing the pros and cons of a bill seeking to authorize up to two new gambling licenses for smoke-free casinos and then adjourned without comment or action.

After the meeting, Rep. Guy Vander Linden, R-Oskaloosa, was non-committal about the future of House File 257, a bill that would require the state Racing & Gaming Commission to establish a process for granting up to two licenses to conduct gambling games at structures subject to Iowa Clean Indoor Air Act - which currently exempts casino floor from state smoking restrictions.

The bill offers the best hope for the city of Cedar Rapids to get approved for a state gambling license after the regulatory commission rejected a license application for Cedar Rapids last April, saying the proposed casino in Linn County would take too much business from other casinos, particularly Riverside Casino and Golf Course.

'I understand that the members of the committee don't want to get into picking winners and losers when it comes to who gets casino licenses and that's not what this bill is about. What this bill is about is exploring the opportunity to create another category of license,” said Rep. Ken Rizer, R-Cedar Rapids, a bill co-sponsor.

Many Iowa gamblers and casino employees are concerned about second-hard smoke, Rizer said, and the people of Cedar Rapids would like to explore the financial viability of going down 'a smoke-free casino path.” The best way to determine that would be to grant a couple of gambling licenses to communities willing to explore that option.

However, representatives of existing casinos in Riverside and Waterloo told subcommittee members the action would adversely affect their operations and investments, and Wes Ehrecke, a lobbyist for the Iowa Gaming Association, which represents existing state-licensed racetracks and casinos, said the measure could open up a competition among at least 20 counties that have approved gambling referendums.

Ameristar Casino lobbyist Susan Cameron, who opposed the bill, said there is nothing preventing existing casinos from going smoke free so that option already is there, but embarking on the course outlined in H.F. 255 would run counter to the commission's research and decision-making authority.

'We see this as a unique way of getting around the Racing and Gaming Commission's ruling,” said Frank Chiodo, a lobbyist for the Riverside Casino that he noted would be hurt most by a smoke-free casino in Cedar Rapids. 'To open this Pandora's box and to go this route would be devastating at least to us.”

Wes Ehrecke, a lobbyist for the Iowa Gaming Association, which represents existing state-licensed racetracks and casinos, said it would mark 'an uncharted precedent” for the Legislature to 'usurp” the commission's authority and 'mandate” gambling licenses.

'For the Legislature to mandate something like that we think would be wrong,” said Ehrecke.

William Steward, a lobbyist for the Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, opposed the bill because it would further expand gambling opportunities in Iowa.

Gary Grant, a lobbyist for the city of Cedar Rapids and Linn County Board of Supervisors, said the bill recognizes that the Legislature is not in the business of awarding gambling licenses but gives lawmakers a chance to weigh in on the future direction of gambling in Iowa.

'We understand that there may not be an appetite to ban smoking in casinos,” Grant said, 'but we think it may be time for the Legislature to authorize a pilot project to settle once and for all whether smoke-free casinos can be successful or not. While we certainly hope that we receive one of those licenses, but we're just asking for another opportunity to compete for one of those licenses.”

Larry Murphy, a former state senator who lobbies for Cedar Rapids, said the Legislature's role is not to protect the existing gambling industry from new competition, but he acknowledged that H.F. 255 faces 'an uphill run” this session.