NJ Governor Says Lawmakers Should Decide on Smoking in Casinos

^{New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill wants the state legislature to determine whether or not there should be a ban on smoking at casinos. (Photo: Ben Von Klemperer / Alamy)}

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill says that she wants to see the state legislature take up the question of whether smoking should be banned on Atlantic City casino floors, rather than leaving the issue up to the courts.

Sherrill made her comments in an interview with The Press of Atlantic City, in which she did not take a side in the debate over smoking in casinos.

Sherrill: Legislation, Not Litigation, Will Solve Smoking Issue

Workers at New Jersey casinos are currently pursuing a lawsuit in New Jersey courts in the hopes of ending the exemption to the state’s Smoke-Free Air Act that allows casino gaming floors to allow smoking, even as the activity is banned in nearly all other public spaces. Proponents of the ban have also sought to have lawmakers pass a bill to accomplish the same goal, but have seen little success there despite public statements that would seem to support such a move.

“There’s litigation right now, but they really need legislation,” Sherill said in the interview. “I’ve heard from workers on both sides, those people who want the smoking ban, people who don’t and are worried about business. I think what we need to do first and foremost is make sure we’re protecting the safety of workers and at the same time ensuring that we have jobs and we’re continuing to grow the economy here.”

While that was far from a full-throated endorsement of their position, some of the workers pushing for a ban welcomed her call on the state legislature to take up the issue.

“We’ve lost too many co-workers due to the Legislature’s inaction over the last two decades,” Pete Naccarelli, a member of Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects (CEASE), told The Press of Atlantic City. “Now, Gov. Sherrill has the chance to be a hero to the thousands of CEASE members who are literally begging for our lives. Indeed, this will only happen with her leadership – specifically, her calling on the Legislature to send her a bill that actually protects us as soon as possible.”

Future New York Casinos Worry Atlantic City Resorts

Currently, the New Jersey Supreme Court is considering a petition filed by the United Auto Workers that asks it to reconsider lower court findings on constitutional issues related to the smoking case. Specifically, the UAW wants the state’s highest court to consider whether the New Jersey Constitution grants a right to safety, something that could arguably make the casino smoking exemption unconstitutional.

Casino owners – as well as some workers, including Local 54 of the Unite Here union – have argued against the smoking ban, saying it would cost jobs and revenue while saying current air filtration systems do enough to protect workers. Proponents of the ban say that more recent studies show that casinos don’t suffer revenue losses from smoking bans.

Whether removing the exemption would cost Atlantic City casinos any revenue may be an open question, but the fear is real – especially with three casinos being built in New York City, which will almost certainly impact New Jersey’s resorts.

“Obviously, like so many people, I’m very worried about New York and what’s coming,” Sherrill said. “We want to protect the jobs that we already have in Atlantic City, but at the same time make it more resilient.”