Virginia Senate Advances Fairfax County Casino Bill, Removes Tyson Restrictions

^{Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell is sponsoring a bill to have a casino built in Fairfax County. (Photo: Mike Kropf / Associated Press)}

The Virginia Senate passed a bill on Friday that could pave the way for a casino to be built in Fairfax County that could compete with MGM National Harbor just across the Maryland border.

The Senate passed SB756 by a 23-14 margin, marking the second straight year in which the body had passed casino legislation for Fairfax County. But unlike last year's bill, lawmakers removed a significant restriction on where the casino could be located.

Substitute Bill Removes Location Requirements

There was a twist on the bill’s way to passage. On Tuesday, the legislation was first taken up by the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, where lawmakers removed location requirements that would have effectively restricted the potential casino location to a single place: Tysons, a census-designated place just west of Washington, DC.

“The committee substitute removes the mandated location of the casino,” committee staff director April Kees said during a hearing. “That is, I believe, the only difference.”

Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Mount Vernon), the bill's sponsor, has been fighting for a Northern Virginia casino to combat MGM National Harbor, which sits just over the Potomac River in Maryland.

“That casino is still going strong, sucking money out of our state every day,” Surovell said earlier this week. “I want to get some of that money back into our state to pay for our schools and school construction all around the state.”

On Friday, Surovell reiterated that a casino in Fairfax County would benefit all of Virginia, not just his district. He pointed to an analysis by the Audit & Review Commission (JLARC) suggesting that a Fairfax County casino would generate more than all five casinos in Virginia combined.

Opponents Say Casino is Wrong for Fairfield County

Despite clearing the Senate again, the bill’s fate in the House of Delegates is far from certain. A similar bill last year died in subcommittee after passing the Senate.

There has been significant local opposition to building a casino in Tysons. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted in December to oppose a bill allowing for a casino in the county, and local opposition groups spoke up as the bill move through the Senate this week.

“Although the substitute version of the bill is intended to broaden the narrow location parameters of the original bill, our coalition, local businesses, and residents remain firmly opposed to the prospect of any casino development anywhere in Fairfax County,” Lynee Mulston of the No Fairfax Casino Coalition said, via FOX 5 DC.

Mulston said her coalition and other opponents are focused on challenging "misinformation that is being promoted by casino proponents" that Fairfax County needs a casino to remain successful.

Several Northern Virginia legislators voted against the bill, including Senator Jennifer Boysko (D-Herndon).

“There are almost virtually no times when Republicans and Democrats and independents alike are united on a political issue,” Boysko said. “I go to the grocery store. I am stopped by my constituents. I have gone to the doctor. I have been stopped by my doctor when I was having a sick visit, who said, ‘Please do not bring a casino here. We don’t need it.’”