Amending the Kansas indoor clear air act to prohibit smoking on the gaming floor of a lottery gaming facility or racetrack gaming facility and amending the definition of smoking to include the use of an electronic cigarette and smoking marijuana.

2025-2026 Regular Session

Expands smoking definition to include electronic cigarettes and marijuana, bans smoking on gaming floors, and removes exemptions for gaming floors, hotels, and adult care homes.

Died in Committee

#crimes #punishmentandcriminalprocedure #gamblingandgaming #healthandhealthcare

Purpose

HB 2252 would amend the Kansas Indoor Clean Air Act to expand the definition of “smoking” to include use of electronic cigarettes and burning marijuana, and to prohibit smoking on the gaming floor of lottery gaming facilities and racetrack gaming facilities. The bill also removes certain existing exemptions (including for gaming floors, hotel/motel rooms, and portions of adult care homes).

Key provisions

Amends K.S.A. 21-6109 and K.S.A. 21-6110 (Kansas Indoor Clean Air Act).

Revises the definition of “smoking” to explicitly include:

Use of an “electronic cigarette” (as defined in the Kansas Cigarette and Tobacco Products Act).
Burning marijuana in any form or device (as defined in K.S.A. 65-4101).

Defines “gaming floor” as the area of a lottery or racetrack gaming facility where patrons engage in Class III gaming (excluding most back-of-house, food service, lodging, etc.; a bar may be included if fully within the gaming area).

Eliminates exemptions that previously allowed smoking in:

Gaming floors of lottery and racetrack facilities,
Hotel/motel rooms (previously exempt),
Portions of adult care homes previously exempted.

Makes it unlawful to smoke in enclosed areas and at public meetings (consistent with the Indoor Clean Air Act framework).

Who would be affected

Lottery and racetrack gaming facilities (notably the four Kansas Lottery-operated gaming facilities).

Casino employees and patrons (including users of electronic cigarettes and marijuana).

Hotels/motels and adult care homes (loss of some prior exemptions).

State and local governments via impacts on gaming tax/revenue shares.

Public generally through expanded smoke-free indoor environments.

Fiscal and other impacts (from Fiscal Note — Division of the Budget, Feb 20, 2025)

The Kansas Lottery reports potential reductions in casino revenues if the gaming-floor exemption is rescinded. Historical and consulting estimates vary widely (10–30% cited during Kansas vetting; Federal Reserve St. Louis found ~20% decline during an Illinois ban; other studies estimate 4.2–10.9%).

Using a mid-range assumption (10% reduction for traditional casino gaming and 2% reduction for sports wagering), the fiscal note estimates:

State revenue loss ≈ $9.8 million (FY estimates based on current consensus revenue).
Local (cities/counties) revenue loss ≈ $1.2 million.

The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission could not accurately estimate fiscal effects; Department of Health and Environment notes potential health-system cost savings but did not quantify them. Enforcement cost implications were not estimated. Several state agencies reported no expected operational fiscal effect.

Procedural / timeline notes

Introduced Jan 30, 2025; referred to House Committee on Health and Human Services (current status).

Fiscal note prepared Feb 20, 2025 and supplied to the committee.

Additional committee actions and floor scheduling would determine further movement; enforcement details and rulemaking (if enacted) would be handled by relevant state agencies.

Note: The bill text and fiscal analysis reference K.S.A. sections and definitions; the fiscal impacts rely on revenue estimates and industry studies and are sensitive to the assumed percentage declines in gaming activity.

Bill