Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

The Clean Indoor Air Act of 2008 prohibits smoking in public places except for casinos, drinking establishments, cigar bars, and private clubs. However, the law requires at least half of the space in gaming facilities be designated as nonsmoking.  

 

On July 2, 2020, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board ordered state casinos to temporarily ban all smoking to comply with the Department of Health’s universal mask order since there is no way a patron could appropriately wear a mask while smoking.  Previous to this, many of the state’s casinos had already proactively halted indoor smoking when they were permitted to reopen in prior months.   

 

It is nothing new that smoking and second hand smoke is dangerous for all customers and employees regardless of the designated sections that are not enclosed in casinos.  As casinos start to get back to business, they are required to put safety precautions in place. Now, since casinos are already practicing a smoking ban in their facilities, I feel it should continue even after the pandemic is over.  Therefore, I will be reintroducing SB 1304 of last session that would prohibit smoking of any kind in Pennsylvania’s casinos.   

 

Please consider co-sponsoring this bill that would protect the health of all customers and employees that work or play at our commonwealth gaming facilities.