LANSING- Employment opportunities at casinos may open up under a proposal that aims to eliminate some workers from extensive background checks.

A bill by House Majority Floor Leader Steve Tobocman, D-Detroit, would allow applicants for service-related jobs to skip the state’s rigid gaming license requirements.

Currently, all casino employees are required to obtain a gaming license.

Under the bill, food and beverage, valet and custodial workers would no longer need licenses.

The pool for employment would expand, and “former convicted criminals could potentially apply,” said Tobocman’s chief of staff, Lisa Nuszkowski, because they would not be working on the casino floor.

The measure has the support of the American Civil Liberties Union; the Michigan Council on Crime & Delinquency; Rep. Paul Condino, D-Southfield, and Greektown Casino, said the Detroit casino’s publicist Roger Martin.

The state’s casino floor employment standards are beyond reproach, Martin said, but there needs to be a balance in licensing for prospective employees.

“Restrictions should not be as invasive for other services as they are for gaming,” he said.

This bill would affect casino employment processes throughout the state.

Last year, Tobocman’s bill passed the House by a 90-to-12 vote. However it failed to make it through the senate due to its late introduction in the session.

Rep. Bill Caul, R-Mount Pleasant, voted against the bill its first go-around.

“I feel the bill came up in short order,” he said. Mt. Pleasant is home to Soaring Eagle Resorts.

Caul said there was little to no specific information in the bill and not enough time to make a quality judgment on what would be good for Michigan citizens. He also disagreed with how the bill was presented.

He opposes the current proposal as well.

The proposal is pending in the House Regulatory Reform Committee.