Gambling bills stalled in Senate as Alabama Legislature nears adjournment

Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper (center) speaks to Senate Majority Leader Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro on the floor of the Alabama Senate on May 2, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

Two days after a gambling package stalled in the Alabama Senate amid unexpected opposition and unusual procedural outcomes the legislation appeared to be back in parliamentary limbo.

Senators said Thursday that the front lines had not budged on the measure, despite what many said were heavy lobbying efforts from supporters and opponents.

“50% of them say thank you, 50% of them call me other names,” said Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, who touted the package on the Senate floor Tuesday but ended up voting against it. “But I’m sure those that voted yes are getting the same emails.”

Few were willing to predict the fate of the legislation on Thursday. But with only three days left in the Alabama Legislature’s 2024 regular session, time is working against the package.

Chambers at odds

The legislation consists of a constitutional amendment authorizing gambling and enabling legislation laying out the distribution of gambling revenue and enforcement.

As passed by the Alabama House of Representatives in February, the bill would have created a lottery; authorized casino gambling and sports betting at seven locations around the state and created a state commission to regulate it. It also directed Gov. Kay Ivey to enter 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 bring up to $1.2 billion into state coffers. 

The House bill gave the Legislature discretion to spend the money but limited lottery funds to education purposes like postsecondary scholarships. Casino money could go to any number of programs, including mental health and a “rural health” program that appeared to resemble Medicaid expansion.  

But the bills faced strong opposition from the Alabama Farmers Federation, an influential group, particularly among Republicans. The Poarch Band also expressed dissatisfaction with the bill, saying they wanted the right to submit the final bid on any casino license.

The Senate in March cut down the package to a lottery, a gaming commission and a compact with the Poarch Band. It removed sports betting and limited the seven casino locations to pari-mutuel betting and historic horse racing machines.

Senators estimated the package would bring in $350 million. The Senate version jettisoned the “rural health” language and directed that a third of the money go to education; a third to the General Fund and a third to roads and bridges. It also moved an election on the measure from the presidential election in November to September.

The House rejected the changes and sent the bill to a conference committee.

The legislation appeared to be dying of neglect when it suddenly burst out of committee on Tuesday. The new version authorized a lottery and “electronic games of chance,” including slot machines, at the seven locations around the state. The version left out sports betting but restored the House language on distribution, including the “rural health” language.

The House approved the conference committee report on Tuesday. The Senate voted 20-15 to adopt the package. But because it takes 21 votes to adopt a constitutional amendment, the bill appeared dead at first. 

However, staff said the report needed two ballots, and the 20-15 vote allowed the report to move forward to the next one. The Senate carried over the bill after that.

Holding onto hope

Senators Thursday were unwilling to give up on the bill. 

“The Senate will continue to do exactly what we do,” Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper, said. “Which is work, debate, discuss, and that’s what was going on even today.”

Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, a longtime supporter of legalized gambling, said he remained hopeful. He also said the state would need new revenue after COVID relief funds run out at the end of 2026.

“I’m just hoping they can come around and give the state of Alabama what is needed because we need this new income,” he said. “After 2026, we’re going to find all this federal income is gone, and we need more income in the state of Alabama.”

Senators also said calls and emails for or against the package have bombarded their phones, including text messages that appeared to be sent from people they know.

“I thought it was curious because he called me ‘Senator Givhan,” said Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, a vocal opponent of the bills. “I’m like, ‘Matt’s never going to call me Sen. Givhan.’” 

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians issued a statement Thursday saying it supported a lottery but claimed the bill would have “disastrous long-term impacts on Alabamians,” citing concerns about the kinds of electronic games that the legislation could allow. 

Albritton, whose district includes the Poarch Band, voted against the bill over concerns about how the bill would affect the Poarch Band. The move came as a surprise, as legislation rarely advances to the floor without sponsors being certain of their vote counts.

“I felt confident with where we were because we wanted to come and vote,” Reed said. “Obviously members have their own decisions. Their decision is made right there on that floor.”

All eight Democratic senators voted for the package. Singleton said Thursday he did not know what the vote counts were on the GOP side of the chamber.

“I only count my eight,” he said. “I don’t know about the other side. I count my eight. And my eight came through.”

Negotiating the differences could be difficult. The conference committee report can not be amended, and the chamber must either accept the proposal or reject it.

Albritton said the opposition was complex, and that paths forward seemed limited.

“It is so varied, so volatile, and there’s so much in it,” he said. “And yet when we try to do the smaller pieces, which we have tried before, none of that progressed because of the other issues that keep coming up.”

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