Action 8 political analyst Steve Flowers says the gambling bill has not yet been repealed, even though time is rapidly ending for this year’s Alabama legislative session.
Flowers said the gambling bill could be introduced at any time in the Senate, where the compromise is currently stalled, even if there are only three session days left. The same bill passed the House of Representatives.
The constitutional amendment bill requires 21 out of 35 votes in the Senate to advance. If approved by the Senate, voters will decide the issue on August 20th.
Last week’s test vote resulted in a failure of 20 votes.
Flowers said Senate President Pro-Tem Greg Reed could call for a vote if he believed he had 21 votes.
The compromise would allow the state lottery and allow slot machines and video poker in seven locations in the region, including Macon, Lowndes and Greene counties. Table games and sports betting are no longer considered. Gov. Kay Ivey plans to negotiate an agreement with the Poarch Creek Indians, which operate three gaming facilities on tribal lands in Montgomery, Wetumpka and Atmore.
Some state senators who voted against it last week say they are under pressure to both change their votes or stick with their opposition.
Republican Sen. Lance Bell, who supported the previous bill, voted against the new compromise. “We’ll basically be offering a complete casino,” Bell said of the plan.
“I have to vote my conscience. And what I tell people is, if this was an education lottery, I would vote yes 100%. But that’s not the case. No,” Bell said.
Alabama voters had the opportunity to approve a lottery in 1999, which had the support of then-Gov. Don Siegelman refused.
Republican Sen. Greg Albritton said he has received “hundreds of notifications” via Facebook, email and text messages about the bill.
“Frankly, 50 percent of them say thank you, and 50 percent of them call me by a different name,” Albritton said. “But those who voted yes should have received the same email. This is a controversial, difficult and complex issue.”
Senate Minority Leader Democratic Sen. Bobby Singleton, a conference committee member, said he hopes supporters can get the votes they need because the state will need additional funding once federal pandemic relief funds expire. Ta.
“I hope they come back and give Alabama what it needs because we need this new revenue,” Singleton said.
The Poarch Creek Indians oppose the bill. The tribe had previously sought an agreement with the state that would give it exclusive rights to casino games or additional casino sites in the state in exchange for revenue sharing. The original bill would have allowed casinos to be built in northeast Alabama.
Flowers said he expects lawmakers to meet Tuesday through Thursday before adjourning.
(Copyright 2024. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)
