A planned casino in Tysons, Virginia, was dealt a significant setback in the state House of Delegates Wednesday, with lawmakers putting aside a bill to allow its development.
The bill to authorize the creation of a casino in Fairfax County was passed in the Virginia Senate earlier this month in a bipartisan vote, 24-16. Still, the proposal split Democrats from the area. On Wednesday, a state House subcommittee voted to “pass the bill by for the day,” with no additional subcommittee hearing scheduled before the end of the session. It will likely not advance any further this session.
Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, who represents part of Fairfax County and co-sponsored the bill, expressed disappointment with the move, arguing it could have created many jobs in the area.
“With the Trump administration moving aggressively to eliminate jobs in Northern Virginia, I am disappointed that the House Committee on Appropriations did not see fit to advance SB982 to bring thousands of union jobs to Fairfax County,” Surovell said Wednesday, according to WUSA.
The proposal would have allowed a casino to be built within a quarter-mile of a Metro Silver Line station as part of a mixed-use development project, placing it in Tysons. The legislation would have allowed Fairfax County officials to put the proposed casino up for a referendum of the voters.
Proponents of the casino argued it would create jobs and revenue for the county and surrounding area. Opponents of the measure ranged from groups that traditionally oppose casinos to former spies who worried that a casino that close to Washington, D.C., could be a security risk for the intelligence community.
Lawmakers who opposed the casino plan took a victory lap over Wednesday’s news, declaring the measure dead in the current session.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Oh what a happy day leading up to Valentine’s. SB982, the “Casino Bill,” has died in a House Appropriations Subcommittee,” Democratic state Sen. Jennifer Boysko, who also represents parts of Fairfax County, said in a post on X.
Virginia’s regular legislative session ends Feb. 22, and if the bill has not passed before then, it would have to be reintroduced in another session.
