NJ Senate President Stephen Sweeney’s Defeat Could Hit Atlantic City Casino Smoking
New Jersey’s a great deal finisher than anticipated gubernatorial run captured the headlines this week. That pushed another high-profile Election Day outcome mostly into the shadows.
Stephen Sweeney (D), the longest-running body politic senate prexy in New Jersey history, was swage by Republican River Edward VI Durr, 58, a truck driver who personally spent $153 on his campaign. Durr received 52 percent of the District 3 vote.
But anti-smoking advocates inwards Atlantic Ocean City are speech production come out on the impact Sweeney’s (D) nearly unthinkable red could have on its goal of extinguishing tobacco smoking within casinos.
Sweeney, 62, has been ace of the most powerful individuals inward New island of Jersey for more than a decade. He’s been chairperson of the New island of Jersey Senate since 2010 and has been the Democrats’ chief company representative in the capital of New Jersey working capital since 2008.
Sweeney represents the state’s 3rd legislative district, which comprises all or parts of the southwestern counties of Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem. He has long been supportive of Atlantic Ocean City’s gaming industry.
He was responsible for(p) for developing the 2016 payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) program that allowed the casinos to collectively make up at to the lowest degree $120 jillion annually to the state. The greenback was in response to Atlantic Ocean City casinos thought-provoking their attribute task assessments, as the thriftiness was unraveling at the time, and led to 5 casinos closing between 2014 and 2016.
Sweeney has been supportive of allowing Atlantic Ocean City casinos to persist in allocating upward to 25 percent of their gaming place for indoor smoking. His Election Clarence Day licking agency the industry testament turn a loss I of its biggest supporters ahead of time next year.
Lame Duck Period
“Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects (CEASE)” says it hopes to do work with Sweeney before he departs Trenton. Senate Bill 1878 has been natation around the Trenton capital letter since Feb of 2020. But the legislation, which would ending the gambling casino smoking loophole, has failed to pull in any meaningful traction.
We require Senator Sweeney to facilitate us. We demand activity urgently. Please set our health firstly past loss S1878 — legislating to secretive the casino loophole — inwards the lame duck session. Governor Murphy has already said he’ll signalise it. We testament non reside until we are no longer forced to select between our wellness and a paycheck,” a CEASE vent stated.
The Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR) shared that sentiment.
“Senator Sweeney has been a major obstruction for closing the casino loophole. But we go for we tin process with him during the upcoming lame duck's egg session to send out the billhook to Gov. Murphy’s desk, which the governor said he’ll sign. Casino workers cannot hold off any yearner and they should non live forced to opt 'tween their health and a paycheck,” ANR President and CEO Cynthia Hallett told Casino.org…
Sweeney History
COVID-19 resulted inward New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) temporarily prohibiting indoor cassino smoking through and through an executive order. However, that prescribe expired inwards the summer.
Anti-smoking advocates reason that warm concern experienced past the Nina from Carolina resorts during the smoking censor demonstrates that indoor tobacco permission is non decisive to the wellness of the gaming industry. Sweeney has repeatedly argued that it is, opting to standstill with the Casino Association of New Jersey (CANJ) and its claims that “going completely nonsmoking would localise Atlantic City casinos at a competitive disadvantage with other nearby casinos that take into account smoking.”
Casinos inwards Diamond State are completely smoke-free. But casinos in neighboring Keystone State are not.
CANJ lately received a unexampled chairwoman following Ocean Casino Resort CEO Dame Alice Ellen Terry Glebocki’s resignation. Hard John Rock AC President Joe Lupo was named the young leader of the swap organization this week. Casino.org has requested commentary from Lupo as to whether he might debate easing CANJ’s warm protagonism of cassino smoking.