Iowa Democratic state Senator Wally Horn, co-chairman of the Gambling Casino Restricted License Study Committee, announced he will reintroduce a bill in the next legislative session offering guidelines for a smoke-free casino. Horn submitted a proposal for a smoke-free casino in the Cedar Rapids area during the 2015 legislative session but quickly pulled it. Several other related bills also did not advance in the last legislative session.
Horn’s committee recently met to discuss resubmitting the bill, which would authorize the state’s first completely smoke-free gaming facility in Linn County.
Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett promoted the idea of a smoke-free casino in his city, the second largest in Iowa, earlier this year. Last year, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission rejected a proposal for constructing a casino in Linn County, stating it would cannibalize other casinos in the region. But Corbett and other supporters continued the push for a casino, noting a Cedar Rapids casino would provide an economic boost, create new jobs and help pay for the flood recovery in the region.
