Lawmakers didn’t reach a decision before the end of the session, but it’s still on the table
The effort to end Rhode Island’s current indoor smoking ban exemption at its two retail casinos was briefly revived on the last day of the 2024 legislative session. Casino workers and public health supporters hope this will extend the effort to eliminate smoking at Bally’s Twin River Lincoln and Tiverton Casino into the 2025 session.
A House Committee on Finance meeting on Thursday afternoon produced a 10-0 vote in favor of Rep. Teresa Tanzi’s bill to ban smoking at the two facilities after many lawmakers believed the bill would again be stalled in committee. “It was really a signal more than anything,” said Tanzi to Rhode Island Current. “It shows we’re fully aware of everything workers have been saying.”
Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said the bill was not brought to a vote because both chambers needed more time to evaluate it before the session ended. However, a similar bill proposed by Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski wasn’t voted on by the Senate Committee on Finance after it was held up for further examination on May 14.
If Bally’s Corp. and union leaders fail to reach a new agreement, Tanzi plans to re-introduce her smoking ban legislation at the beginning of the next session in January 2025. Table Game Dealers Laborers Local 711 President Matt Dunham said that as of Thursday, no talks had been held between the union and Bally’s management on the proposed smoking ban.
Bally’s Corp. has historically opposed the move to ban smoking at its casinos in the Legislature. Its Board of Directors also rejected an activist shareholder effort to examine the economics of a smoking ban at its annual virtual shareholders meeting on May 16, saying it was “unwarranted and unreasonable.”
