Penn Submits Proposed Legislation to Ohio Lawmakers
The General Assembly for Ohio must approve legislation for the development and operations of proposed casinos within six months. While Ohio leaders have not decided how to deal with the legislation, they are seeking input from all interested parties.
Penn National Gaming (PENN: 24.05 -0.66%) has used their experience developing casinos in seven other states to draft a proposed legislation as a starting point for lawmakers. With the passage of Issue 3, the gaming company has been granted permission to develop gambling facilities in Columbus and Toledo.
Legislators have commented on amending the bill to increase the amount of taxes and license fees required by the casinos and to allow Columbus to opt out. While the bill passed statewide, it was rejected by Columbus voters.
The drafted legislation would put several commitments made by casino proponents into state law including buying goods locally and filling 90% of jobs with local residents. Other suggestions have been to prohibit casinos from accepting cash wagers and from donating to political campaigns.
Casino developers would be subject to state and local laws related to health and building codes, however no local zoning or land restrictions could prevent development. Cities would also not be required to extend infrastructure such as water, sewer and new streets to casino sites.
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