The legislation to make Fairfax County eligible for a casino isn’t officially dead, but it appears to be in active need of resuscitation.
A House of Delegates appropriations subcommittee’s decision to pass by Senate Bill 982 after a 30-minute hearing on Wednesday (Feb. 12) brought celebratory statements from the community groups and local elected officials who had vocally opposed the proposal to allow a casino in Tysons.
Lawmakers deciding on a controversial bill to develop a casino and entertainment complex in Tysons Corner tabled a decision Wednesday after House leadership moved the bill between House committees for consideration.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell’s Senate Bill 982 would have added Fairfax County to the list of Virginia localities eligible to develop a casino that backers say would bring jobs and revenue for the county and commonwealth.
Discussion of legislation permitting a referendum on a Tysons casino has moved to the powerful House Committee on Appropriations.
Members of the House Committee on Local Government were directed by Speaker Don Scott (D-88) yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) to send the bill to the chamber’s appropriations committee without acting on it.
Legislation that would give Fairfax County the authority to ask voters to allow a casino is heading to the Virginia House of Delegates.
After a passionate debate that split Fairfax County’s typically unified delegation, the contentious bill from Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34) to add the county to the short list of localities eligible to host a casino passed the state Senate today (Tuesday) by a 24-16 vote.
The push to allow a casino in Fairfax County has officially entered new territory.
After tabling similar legislation proposed by state Sen. Dave Marsden (D-35) last year, the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted 9-6 this morning (Tuesday) to report Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell’s (D-34) bill to add the county to Virginia’s list of eligible casino hosts to the full chamber.
Update — At its Wednesday, Jan. 22 meeting, the Virginia Senate General Laws and Technology Committee voted 11-3 with Sen. Adam Ebbin, the committee’s chair, abstaining to advance the bill to authorize a casino in Fairfax County to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.
Earlier: A bill that would make Fairfax County eligible for a casino is again making headway through the Virginia Senate.
Advocates for a referendum to allow a casino in Tysons have a formidable ally in the General Assembly this year.
State Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34) is carrying the 2025 bill to add Fairfax County to Virginia’s short list of casino-eligible localities, taking over from Sen. Dave Marsden (D-35), who introduced legislation in 2023 and 2024.
Almost two years after talks of a casino in Fairfax County’s Silver Line corridor emerged, prospective developer Comstock Companies has publicly commented for the first time on its plan for a gaming and entertainment hub in Tysons.
The proposal represents “an opportunity to bring an entertainment anchor” to Tysons, Comstock Executive Vice President for Development John Harrison told community members Tuesday (Jan. 7) at an online forum hosted by the Fairfax County NAACP.
More than 80% of people surveyed in the National Capital Region said they “support more and better transit services, even if it requires higher investment by the region,” according to a survey conducted by two advisory groups associated with a regional task group’s effort to create a new funding plan for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro).
Under a proposed funding plan known as Scenario 1, the advisory groups said the region would have to generate an additional $645 million to cover all the transit agencies in fiscal year 2028, with 70% of the funds for capital investments.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday that the state will no longer follow car emissions standards set by California, despite his party’s failure to repeal or roll back a 2021 Democratic law that tied Virginia to those regulations.
The move tees up what could be another legal fight over Republican leaders’ efforts to undo climate change-related measures Democrats passed when they had full control of state government a few years ago.
