Following Richmond, Virginia voters’ second rejection of a casino last year, Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee Chairman Louise Lucas and state Senator Lashrecse Aird have sponsored legislation amending requirements for a casino host city to fit Petersburg.
The bill doesn’t specifically state Petersburg would replace Richmond as the fifth Virginia casino host city, but according to the Petersburg Progress-Index, it removes a minimum 200,000-population provision and lowers the rate floor for tax-exempted real estate property in 2017 and the poverty rate in 2019.
It also requires the host city to have had an unemployment rate of at least 13 percent in 2020; in 2020, Petersburg’s unemployment rate was 21.1 percent.
The measure, Senate Bill 628, also deletes language granting “preferred consideration” to Native American tribes in the state. The Pamunkey tribe is developing the proposed HeadWaters Casino in Norfolk.
Lucas opposed a Petersburg casino the past two years when it was presented to her committee. She later told the Progress-Index that her main issue was not the legislation itself but state Senator Joe Morrissey’s push to include Petersburg in the 2022 and 2023 legislative sessions. Aird defeated Morrissey in last June’s Democratic primary.
In 2019, the General Assembly approved Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Richmond as casino host cities, depending on the outcome of voter referendums. All referendums passed except in Richmond.
Officials pushed for a do-over of its 2021 referendum, which failed by 1,500 votes, claiming bad communications and voters’ confusion doomed the outcome. The legislature allowed a second vote last November, which fared even worse, with 61 percent voting no.
State Del. Michael Jones introduced a bill prohibiting a qualifying casino host city from holding multiple referendums. And state Senator Bryce Reeves sponsored a bill disallowing any potential host city where a casino referendum has failed from voting on it again for three years following the failed referendum. State Del. Betsey Carr also submitted legislation similar to the amendments made in the Aird-Lucas bill.
Meanwhile, the McLean Citizens Association announced it opposes a bill expected to be filed by state Senator Dave Marsden, which would include Fairfax County in the five previously approved locations for casino gambling. The organization’s board recently sent a letter to Fairfax County delegates and state senators expressing their position. The Reston Association also opposes the legislation.
MCA President Linda Walsh said, “Many of our members and residents have contacted MCA board members to express their opposition to allowing casinos to be operated in Fairfax County. MCA is watching this closely.”
Marsden has said a casino in Tysons could be part of an entertainment district including a conference center and a performing arts venue. However, developer Comstock Companies has proposed building a casino near the Wiehle Metro station in Reston.
Marsden said the county needs to diversify its commercial tax base while the office-space market still struggles to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Similar legislation submitted by Marsden last year, proposing a casino in Fairfax County along Metro’s Silver Line, was withdrawn.
Although he does not represent Tysons or Reston, Marsden serves on the senate’s finance and appropriations committee, which oversees budget and tax-related legislation.
If Marsden’s bill is passed and signed into law by Governor Glenn Youngkin, a voter referendum on a Fairfax County casino would be required.
