New Jersey Legislature Will Once Again Debate Casino Smoking Ban
During its upcoming session, the New Jersey Legislature will once again take up a bill seeking to remove the exemption to the state’s smoking ban that casinos have had since 2006.
This will be a familiar story for those who follow New Jersey politics, as similar bills have been introduced dating back to 2006, but none of them made it to a full vote. Similar bills in the most recent session failed to advance out of committee hearings in their respective chambers, despite dozens of legislators signing on as co-sponsors and several hearings being held. One of those hearings resulted in casino workers lighting up cigarettes in the Senate’s chambers in protest of their inaction.
Sen. Joe Vitale, D-Middlesex, who is one of the Senate version’s sponsors, was also the person who decided to pull the previous session’s version after losing support from some members of the legislature who he said wanted to further consider proposed compromises put forth by the gaming industry.
The bill, S. 1493, has been referred to the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.
Patrick Lagreid
I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.
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