Alabama Senate committee to consider lottery bills
Bills to call for a constitutional amendment to establish a state lottery were debated in an Alabama Senate committee.
US.- The Senate Tourism and Marketing Committee held a public hearing on the second day of the special legislative session. Governor Bentley and Senator McClendon’s lottery bills were approved in the committee and they’ll be debated on Senate floor this week.
“This is the best chance we’ve had for a lottery in Alabama since it failed in 1999 so we’re making great progress,” McClendon said.
The proposals up for debate include Bentley’s plan to set up a lottery to fund Medicaid. However, lawmakers have introduced several rival proposals. One would also allow electronic lottery terminals, which can resemble slot machines, at four state dog tracks and seek a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Another bill would limit a lottery to multistate games, such as Powerball, to save administration costs.
Proposed constitutional amendments require approval by three-fifths of senators and representatives to go on the ballot for voters. Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, who chairs the Tourism and Marketing Committee, said he did not think there are 21 favorable votes in the Senate for any version of the lottery proposal.
The bill would use the money to pay off outstanding state debts and free up about €55 million for the Medicaid program. A similar bill passed the House in the spring but fell apart in the Senate in dispute over road money distributed under the proposal.
