Action 8 Political Analyst Steve Flowers: Gambling bill not yet dead – WAKA 8

Action 8 Political Analyst Steve Flowers says the gambling bill isn’t yet dead, even though time is quickly winding down in this year’s session of the Alabama Legislature.

Flowers says even with only three meeting days left, the gambling bill could come up at any time in the Senate, where a compromise bill is currently stalled. The same bill has passed the House.

The constitutional amendment proposal needs 21 out of 35 votes in the Senate to proceed. If it wins Senate approval, voters would decide the issue on August 20.

Last week, a test vote failed with 20 votes.

Flowers says Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed can call for a vote when he believes he has the 21 votes.

The compromise bill would permit a state lottery and allow slot machines and video poker at seven locations, including in Macon, Lowndes and Greene counties in our area. Table games and sports betting are no longer under consideration. Gov. Kay Ivey would negotiate a compact with the Poarch Creek Indians, which operate three gambling facilities on tribal land in Montgomery, Wetumpka and Atmore.

Some state senators who voted no last week say they are getting pressure both to change their vote or to hold fast in their opposition.

Republican Sen. Lance Bell, who supported an earlier version of the bill, voted no on the new compromise bill. “You are basically giving full casinos,” Bell said of the plan.

“I have to vote my conscience. And what I’ve told my people is if this was an education lottery, 100% I would be voting yes. But it’s not,” Bell said.

Alabama voters had the chance to approve a lottery in 1999, which was supported by then-Gov. Don Siegelman, but turned it down.

Republican Sen. Greg Albritton says he has gotten “hundreds and hundreds of notifications” from Facebook, emails and texts about the bill.

“Frankly, 50% of them say thank you, and 50% of them call me other names,” Albritton said. “But I’m sure those that voted yes are getting the same emails. This is a controversial and difficult, complicated matter.”

Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, the Democratic senator on the conference committee, said he is hopeful that supporters can get the needed votes because the state will need additional money when federal pandemic relief funds end.

“I’m just hoping that they can come around and give the state of Alabama what it needs, because we need this new income,” Singleton said.

The Poarch Creek Indians oppose the bill. The tribe has previously sought a compact that, in exchange for sharing revenue with the state, would give them either exclusivity over casino games or an additional casino site in the state. The original bill would have allowed a casino in northeast Alabama.

Flowers expects lawmakers to meet Tuesday-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.)