Authorization legislation for Ohio’s four new casinos, to be located in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo, cleared the House and Senate in the wee hours of the morning following the midnight constitutional deadline. After hours of deadlock, members were able to reach agreement on the appropriation of half of the $200 million in one-time, up-front fees from casino developers for workforce development programs, but Senate Republicans refused to budge on the minority hiring issue. 

The House voted 82-12 in support of the conference report on House Bill 519, while the report cleared the Senate on a party line vote of 20-12, with all Democrats in opposition to the bill.

In addition to the new appropriation of fees, the conference report included transferring the regulation of so-called “skilled games” from the Attorney General’s office to the newly created Ohio Casino Commission starting in July 2011 and modified provisions dealing with initial investments and charitable bingo. 

Both the House and Senate adjourned around 4:00 am this morning and members will now be heading home for summer recess. Legislators will likely return to work in Columbus come mid-August for a brief few weeks prior to the November elections. Session schedules for the remainder of the year will likely be released by the Senate President and Speaker of the House in the coming weeks.