Thursday, March 17 2011
By Rachel Whitten | KansasReporter.org
TOPEKA, Kan. – Legislation that would relax smoking bans in bars but would end state-owned casinos’ exemptions from the statewide smoking ban surfaced in the Kansas House Health and Human Services Committee Wednesday.
Testimony before a packed committee room came from a long list of opponents and supporters of the bills-- House Bill 2039, which would delete state-owned casino’s exemption from the smoking ban, and House Bill 2340, which would allow smoking in bars that sell lottery tickets.
The legislation is among the first to attempt to amend the statewide ban on smoking that was approved by the legislature last year. To stay competitive with casinos owned by Native American tribes, the state exempted its gaming facilities from enforcing the ban on the casino floor.
According to testimony from all three state-owned casino managers—Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Dodge City, which has been open since late 2009; Hollywood Casino in Wyandotte County by the Kansas Speedway, which is slated to open early next year; and the Kansas Star Casino, which just began construction south of Wichita—banning casino smoking would mean less revenue for the state.
“All current evidence indicates patrons visit a casino with a ban on smoking less frequently, and thus, the revenue to the state decreases,” said Sharon Stroburg, with Boot Hill Casino and Resort.
However, according to research provided by the Kansas Health Institute, which studied the economic affects in Lawrence when that city approved a smoking ban in 2004, there was no negative impact even though other near-by cities allowed smoking in restaurants and bars.
“We found no evidence of an economic impact on overall sales in the restaurant and bar industry as a result of the ban,” according to written testimony from the Health Institute.
Other advocates for smoke-free public places spoke about the negative affects secondhand smoke in their personal lives.
Dani Weiter, a senior at the University of Kansas, said she has supported herself through school by working in the restaurant industry and that constant exposure to smoke has affected her health.
“I was getting sick on a regular basis and it eventually led to chronic sinus infections, which triggered my asthma,” Weiter said.
Committee chair Brenda Landwehr, a Republican from Wichita said the two bills might be combined into one, and the committee plans to work and vote on them before this Friday.
Boot Hill Casino and Resort is projected to pull in about $9.25 million in revenue for the state this year according to Keith Kocher with the Kansas Lottery.
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