The pot continues to build in the push to fully ban smoking in Atlantic City casinos as both Assembly Republicans and casino worker unions took steps Tuesday to secure the prohibition.
On the legislative front, Assembly Republicans shoved all-in and announced they’ll support a smoking ban in Atlantic City casinos should Democrats fail to secure a majority on the bill. On the legal front, United Auto Workers Region 9 and CEASE NJ filed an appeal with the state’s Supreme Court after a Superior Court judge dismissed their lawsuit demanding a smoking ban late last month.
The move from Assembly GOP leaders appears to secure an Assembly majority for a bill that fully bans casino smoking. The bill would eliminate carveouts that allow casinos to designate up to 25 percent of their floor space as a smoking zone. The bill in question has been the subject of hearings in both Assembly and Senate committees, but the policy never received a floor vote.
The legislation currently has 42 sponsors and co-sponsors, including 13 Republicans, indicating the bill would likely pass if it came to a vote. The decision to put the bill on the floor is up to Speaker Craig Coughlin, but legislative leaders have leaned away from action because of potential lost revenue for casinos. Gov. Phil Murphy has said he would sign a law that banned smoking in casinos.
“If Democrats are serious about protecting workers, Republicans are ready to help pass the bill,” Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio said in a release. “We need legislative action, not excuses.”
The Senate version of the bill has 16 total sponsors.
Meanwhile, the appeal from UAW and CEASE NJ asks the New Jersey Supreme Court to designate casino smoking as an emergency that causes irreparable harm to casino workers.
“The Legislature, CDC, and N.J. Commissioner of Health all agree that exposure to secondhand smoke causes immediate harm to human bodies,” the emergency appeal form reads. “Many members of plaintiffs’ organizations have illnesses caused by secondhand smoke. Some have died.”
Chancery Division Judge Patrick Bartels dismissed the case on Aug. 30, saying the “exceptions in the Smoke-Free Air Act do not intrude upon a person’s safety under the New Jersey Constitution.”
“Because of the publicly known risks of secondhand smoke, that smoking has never been banned in casinos except for a short period during COVID-19, that the Smoke-Free Air Act’s exceptions only affect a few industries, and that the Smoke-Free Air Act does not hinder or affect a person’s ability to seek work in a smoke-free environment, it cannot be said that Governor Murphy or the New Jersey Legislature’s actions in providing exceptions to the Smoke-Free Air Act restricts the casino workers’ right to pursue safety under the New Jersey Constitution.”