After controversial approval, MS Senate looks to crack down on new Coast casino sites
Apparently the Secretary of State isn’t the only one concerned with the way a casino was given site approval on the beach in Biloxi.
Senate Bill 2780 — introduced before Monday’s legislative deadline — seeks to change the state constitution. It would require any company wanting to use Public Trust Tidelands as part of a casino project to obtain a tidelands lease from the Secretary of State and not through any city, county or other municipality.
The bill comes after the Mississippi Gaming Commission in December gave site approval to RW Development to build a casino on U.S. 90 and Veterans Avenue in Biloxi.
Site approval was denied by three previous Gaming Commissions that said RW Development owner Ray Wooldridge didn’t have control of the property all the way to the water’s edge, as required.
Wooldridge went back a fourth time with a lease from Biloxi and the blessing of Harrison County to build a pier that would give him a slim connection to the waterfront. This came after the Supreme Court upheld a local court ruling that a state Tidelands lease isn’t required from the state to build the pier.
SB 2780 attempts to set out the exact requirements for the Gaming Commission to follow should other casino operators seek to follow a similar route to site approval.
What the bill says
The state Legislature seldom opens the Mississippi Gaming Control Act to make any changes.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. David Blount, chairman of the Senate Gaming Committee, and several Coast senators: Mike Thompson and Philman Ladner, and members of the Gaming Committee, Bryce Wiggins and Jeremy England.
“I am working with the Secretary of State’s office and every Coast casino operator on the bill,” Blount said.
“Now more than ever, we need to restore a consistent regulatory environment to preserve the sand beach and encourage further investment and improvements in the Coast casino market,” he said.
SB 2780 seeks to clarify and amend several provisions that have caused confusion and legal battles since casinos were allowed to be built onshore after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It also makes law the Gaming Commission’s minimum requirements for casinos on the Coast, which say the casino must have at least 300 hotel rooms, a fine dining restaurant, a 40,000 square foot casino floor and an attraction that grows the local casino and tourist market.
Among the provisions of the bill are:
▪ Define state jurisdiction over Public Trust Tidelands and the authority of the secretary of state to approve leases on the tidelands
▪ Declare the legislators’ intent for tidelands and casino sites following Katrina
▪ Require anyone seeking a casino license to obtain a tidelands lease through the secretary of state and be subject to annual rent
▪ Clarify the need for a tidelands lease even if the use is rent-exempt
▪ Require state agencies and political subdivisions with littoral or riparian rights also require a tidelands lease
Legal or political?
Secretary of State Michael Watson fired off his response to the RW Development site approval in January.
“I hope I am wrong, but this latest episode of the RW Development saga reeks more of politics than a legal development,” Watson said.
He asked for help to clarify the issues.
“I again implore the Mississippi Legislature to reaffirm the state’s ownership, management and control of and over the state-owned Public Trust Tidelands, including the public sand beach in Harrison County,” Watson said.
The bill was referred to the senate Gaming, Ports and Marine Resources committees.
This story was originally published February 25, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
