Fairfax Leaders Urge Governor To Veto Tysons Casino Bill

RICHMOND, VA — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors reaffirmed its opposition to legislation that would pave the way for a casino to be built in Tysons, calling on the governor to veto the bill that the Virginia General Assembly approved on Saturday.

"Late Saturday, both chambers of the General Assembly approved the casino bill SB756 without any amendments," Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill) said Monday. "A similar bill passed the Senate last year and senior leadership privately predicted last fall that it would pass both Senate and House this year, so this is not a surprise.

"Explicit Fairfax County opposition to casino legislation continues to be Fairfax County policy and I call on Governor Spanberger to veto SB 756," Alcorn said. "We did not ask for it, and we don’t want it."

Supervisor Dalia Palchik (D-Providence), who represents the area where the proposed casino is meant to be built, also called on the governor to veto bill.

"If the antics of the last 24 hours have made one thing clear, it's that this legislation is not being put forward in good faith by the patron," she said. "The prescribed location and lousy financial deal for Fairfax make a mockery of local land use authority and take financial advantage of our community."

On Friday night, the Virginia Senate presented a substitute bill with significant changes to earlier versions of the legislation.

These changes included giving the state power to authorize a temporary casino in Tysons, which would bypass the referendum process that was required of all five of Virginia's existing casinos.

In addition, once the state authorized a temporary casino, the county would be required to issue all applicable permits "by right" to the developer.

Opposition to this version of the legislation was loud and swift, with Board Chair Jeff McKay (D) issuing a statement late Friday night that was signed by the nine Democrats on the board.

"It is bad enough to disrespect the wishes of Fairfax County voters and their duly elected representatives; it is worse to do so in a way that undermines planned development in one of the economic drivers of the entire Commonwealth," McKay wrote.

Supervisor Jimmy Bierman (D-Dranesville), who has been the loudest voice on the board speaking in opposition to the casino bill, thanked the members of the Northern Virginia delegation who voted repeatedly against what he called a "bad bill."

"We all know that the attempted shenanigans that have shone a bright light on the corruption at the heart of this bill were only deemed necessary because the idea remains deeply unpopular," he said. "Our residents know a bad deal when they see it, and while Fairfax County may be open for business, it is not for sale."

Although the board of supervisors voted in December to include language opposing any legislation seeking to bring a casino to Tysons in its 2026 legislative program, it was not a unanimous vote.

Supervisors Pat Herrity (R-Springfield), Andres Jimenez (D-Mason), Dan Storck (D-Mount Vernon), and Kathy Smith (D-Sully) voted against adding anti-casino language to the board's legislative program.

Whenever bill patron Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Mount Vernon) was asked in the Senate about Fairfax County leaders not supporting the bill or even asking for the authority to put a casino referendum on a future ballot, the majority leader would bring up the 5-4 vote from December. He added that the Braddock District seat was vacant, seeming to give the impression that the board was divided.

Supervisor Rachna Sizemore-Heizer (D-Braddock) was sworn in on Dec. 16 to fill the vacant seat formerly occupied by U.S. Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-11th). Although she didn't vote on the legislative package, she was one of the nine Democrats to sign McKay's letter to SB 675, demonstrating a united opposition to the bill by the board's nine Democrats.

On Saturday, the House of Delegates rejected the Senate's bill, passed a new substitute that generally restored SB756 to the version that the bill's sponsor, Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Mount Vernon), originally submitted in January.

Read Patch's reporting on Comstock Companies' plan to build a casino in Tysons at Silver Line Casino.

The Senate approved the new legislation, sending it to the governor for her signature. She has 30 days to sign, veto or amend the bill.

A comparison of Senate Bill 756 as proposed on Friday by the Senate and the version proposed by the House of Delegates and reveals significant deletions in the latter version.

While both substitute bills' primary change involves updating "city" to "locality" throughout the Code of Virginia, the adopted version of the bill removed several specific provisions regarding temporary licensure and tax revenue apportionment for a newly defined host county.

Removed Provisions From March 13 Bill

The following items were present in the March 13 bill but were removed from the version adopted on March 14:

• Temporary Casino Licensure Process for Specific Counties: The entire second enactment clause was removed. This clause would have authorized the state's Major Employment and Investment Project Approval Commission to approve the selection and operation of a temporary casino gaming establishment in an eligible host locality with a population greater than 1.15 million.
• Alternative Tax Revenue Apportionment: Subsection C of § 58.1-4125 was deleted. This provision specifically dictated that 50 percent of revenues from a casino in a host locality with over 1.15 million residents would be distributed to that locality for K-12 public education, with the remainder going to the School Construction Fund.
• Specific Temporary Operating Constraints: Detailed requirements for the temporary establishment, such as a maximum gaming floor of 150,000 square feet and a five-year operational limit, were eliminated.
• Automatic Permit Issuance: The requirement that an eligible host locality issue all applicable permits "by right" upon the commission's approval of a temporary establishment was removed.
• Joint Conference Committee Reporting Structure: A newly added section to the Code of Virginia, § 30-310.2, which was included in the March 13 title and enactment summary, was removed from the March 14 version.
• Sunset Provisions: The "sunset" clause mentioned in the March 13 bill title relating to the temporary licensure process was removed from the March 14 bill title.

Both versions of Senate Bill 756 define specific criteria for host localities based on historical economic data and population metric.

One thing that's remained consistent through all versions of the casino bill is that the locality the legislation describes can only be Fairfax County, due to the size of its population and the fact that it has an adopted urban county executive form of government.

The legislation also added back language describing the site of the proposed casino in Fairfax County that could only be Tysons:

• Transit Proximity: Must be within $1/4$ mile of an existing station on the Metro Silver Line.
• Project Scale: Must be part of a coordinated mixed-use project of at least 1.5 million square feet.
• Commercial Proximity: Must be within two miles of a regional enclosed mall of at least 1.5 million square feet.
• Geography: Must be located outside of the Interstate 495 Beltway.

Also See ...

• Revised Tysons Casino Bill Sent To Governor To Sign: Update
• $3.5M Spent By Comstock Holdings To Advance Tysons Casino Bill
• Supervisors Reject Revised Bill To Allow Temporary Casino Without Local Control: Updated