A measure sponsored by Virginia state Senator Louise Lucas that would establish a state casino gaming commission and allow a casino in her home city, Portsmouth, has been rejected by the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee. The bill would have created a state gaming commission to license casinos in localities where at least 40 percent of the land is exempt from local property taxes. Lucas has unsuccessfully introduced similar legislation for several years.
This year, however, Lucas said she had rewritten the bill to expand the areas where a casino could be located. She said she was not as concerned about getting a casino in Portsmouth as she was in allowing a casino somewhere in Virginia and directing the gaming taxes to a fund that would help lower tolls in Hampton Roads.
Last year Lucas pulled the bill before it could be voted upon due to lack of support.
