Alabama House rejects Senate’s gambling proposal, sends bills to conference committee

Rep. Chris Blackshear, R-Smiths Station, discusses a comprehensive gambling bill on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on Feb. 15, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The House debated a comprehensive lottery and casino package on Thursday. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

The Alabama House of Representatives isn’t happy with Senate changes to its gambling bill. 

The chamber Thursday sent HB 151 and HB 152 to a conference committee, almost a month after senators effectively gutted the original package, which passed the House in February. 

Rep. Chris Blackshear, R-Smiths Station, said on the floor that the “number one” issue is the Senate version splitting gambling revenue three ways, without putting all of it in education. He said that with the Senate’s version, they are leaving $400 to $500 million annually “on the table.” On the licensing process, he said they would be losing about $1 billion. He said they need to have “some detailed conversation with the Senate conferees.”

“They had it for three weeks, we worked on it for 15 months, and I think there are some details we can provide to them that may help them understand why we sent the package that we did to them,” Blackshear said on the floor.

Blackshear and Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, developed the House version of the package, which includes a constitutional amendment authorizing gambling and enabling legislation on regulation, enforcement and distribution of gaming revenues.

Blackshear said in a text message they will not be going into conference committee on Thursday, and that they don’t have an idea on when they might.

“We will post that at a later date. The Senate must now address it and appoint their conference members,” Blackshear said in a text message.

As passed by the House, the package would create a state lottery and authorize casino-style gambling and sports betting at seven locations around the state.

The legislation also created a state commission to regulate gambling and directed Gov. Kay Ivey to negotiate a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, a federally-recognized tribe that operates casinos in Atmore, Montgomery and Wetumpka.

Supporters said the bill could add up to $1.2 billion a year to state coffers. The House package would have allocated money from the lottery to education programs, including post-secondary scholarships, and casino and sports betting revenues to other programs, including mental health and a “rural health care” program that used language similar to Medicaid expansion. The Legislature would have the final say in spending the money. 

The proposed gaming package stalled in the Senate in March over divisions on what version of the package either chamber would accept. The Senate significantly altered the legislation, cutting out sports betting and changing casino gambling to historic horse race betting.

The bill kept the lottery and compact language but required the money to be split three ways between education, the General Fund and roads and bridges. It dropped the “rural health care” program. The Senate version is expected to generate $350 million a year.

The Alabama House’s GOP caucus split over the gambling package, which needed the support of minority Democrats to pass the chamber. House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, has said he will not support a gambling package that lacks Medicaid expansion or a cost-of-living increase for state retirees.

‘What that middle ground is’

Blackshear said after the bill was sent to conference committee that the House and the Senate will have to reach a “middle ground,” but he said he doesn’t know what that will look like yet.

“I think if you take what we passed versus what the Senate passed, I think we got to identify what that middle ground is first,” he said. “Because it’s such a distance between the two, they’re not even close bookends.”

He said that he was “firmly standing by” the comprehensive approach to the issue.

“I think the comprehensive approach is the only way you’re ever going to address it completely. And again, we did that in the House. Can we get back there to some type of compromise in conference? Hopefully, hopefully optimistic,” he said.

The Alabama Senate left on Tuesday without acknowledging the House’s non-concurrence or appointing members to the conference committee.

Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, who carried the legislation in the Senate, said that he is “unaware of any acceptable move,” and that they will see what happens Tuesday.

But Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, still seems optimistic that it can pass. He said that in conference there’s “latitude,” and that conference members don’t have to stick to one version. They can rewrite a bill or look at bringing back the House version.

“I think there’s a way forward. I have those same concerns,” he said. “I think that we left a lot of money on the table. I think that there’s a way to backtrack it.”

Singleton also said that with COVID-era federal funding expiring and state revenue possibly declining, gambling could help fill the gap.

“I think that we going to have to sit down and think about that process and try to put something on the table and allow for it to be voted here,” Singleton said.

Albritton was less optimistic.

“Unless we have a means that we can deal with all of the the activities that are going on now, we’re gonna leave unfinished business on the table,” he said.

‘Simply unacceptable’

Blackshear, Whitt and House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, made it clear in a joint statement on Thursday that the Senate version was not acceptable.

“Simply put, the Senate plan leaves some $800 million on the table, and I hope to find a solution to this in conference,” said Whitt. 

Whitt said to reporters after the House adjourned that some of the things that the Senate cut were “simply unacceptable,” particularly the Senate’s handling of gaming revenue distribution. He did not say what they were willing to compromise on, saying it will have to be figured out in conference committee.

“I’m sure there’s some compromises there, but some things we’re not willing to compromise on and that would be an education lottery,” he said.

Removing sports betting was also a sticking point. Rep. Sam Jones, D-Mobile, who is handling gambling negotiations for the House Democrats, said others shouldn’t profit off Alabamians with regulation.

“The citizen of this state ought to benefit from revenue from that. It shouldn’t just be that other states and other areas of using Alabama the method of profit, and Alabama is not getting anything out of it,” Jones said.

Ledbetter said in a statement the legislation had three goals from the beginning: eliminating illegal gaming, regulating facilities and establishing a lottery that benefits education only.

“If one thing has been made clear throughout this process, it’s that the people of Alabama want and deserve an opportunity to vote on this issue,” Ledbetter stated, adding that he is hopeful the House and the Senate can find a compromise.

After the House adjourned Thursday, he said that he thinks the people of Alabama is smart enough to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

“We got smart people in our state. Why are we neglecting them the opportunity to vote? I don’t get it,” Ledbetter said.

The story was updated ay 12:28 p.m. to include comments from Blackshear made after the bill was sent to conference committee. The story was then updated at 2:19 to include comments from Whitt, Ledbetter, Jones, Singleton and Albritton.

Jemma Stephenson contributed to this report.

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