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Senator Gary Smith (D-Norco) speaks at the podium before legislative session ends sine die, Thursday, June 6, 2019, at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, La.

The head of the state’s most important faith-based lobby in Baton Rouge wants a do-over on a state Senate committee vote Monday that advanced a bill to move a casino to Slidell.

Gene Mills, president of the Family Forum, says the tie-breaking vote by state Sen. Gary Smith, D-Norco, when his wife is one of the casino’s lobbyists, “screams ethically unacceptable even if not legally forbidden.”

Mills on Tuesday asked Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, to return Senate Bill 213 to the Judiciary B Committee for another vote “where no members are married to paid lobbyists or be required to abstain from voting in ethically questionable situations.”

Smith cast the final and deciding vote when the committee, which he chairs, approved SB213. The vote was 4-3. His wife Katherine is one of the 19 lobbyists hired by Brent Stevens, the founder and chairman of P2E, who wants to move the shuttered DiamondJacks casino in Bossier City to Slidell.

Cortez didn’t directly address Mills’ request Tuesday, but he detoured SB213 to the Finance Committee rather than bring it directly to the Senate floor. That means the bill will have to pass an additional hurdle before senators can vote on it.

Mills emailed his supporters Tuesday to ask that they contact Cortez and added about Smith, “We are told an ethics complaint is being filed by impacted citizens who are disgruntled with this action.”

Proposed site plan for Slidell area casino

The new preliminary site plan for the proposed Slidell-area casino includes water features, a 1,500-seat indoor theater and an outdoor amphitheater with space for 6,000 people.

In an interview, Cortez said he was required to refer the bill to the Finance Committee because it would raise revenue. He added that he is asking that the committee give the bill a full hearing and not just focus on its fiscal impact.

SB213 would give voters in St. Tammany Parish the right to vote on whether to move the casino. The bill also would add the planned site – just of Interstate 10 on Lake Pontchartrain in Slidell – to the list of allowable locations for a casino.

In an interview and a text, Smith said he didn’t know that his wife was working for Stevens’ company because they don’t discuss her work.

“Any involvement by her would not change my opinion that letting the people of that area vote on the issue is the correct vote,” Smith added.

The sponsor of SB213 is state Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell. During Monday’s committee hearing, she had the support of St. Tammany government and business leaders who said the venture would create jobs. Numerous ministers from Slidell opposed the measure, saying that a casino there would lead to suicides, broken marriages and other societal problems.