Alabama’s lottery is one step closer
The Alabama House committee approved a bill that would let the residents of the state to decide if they want a lottery or not.
US.- The bill to allow Alabamians to vote for an amendment on the state’s constitution passed a House committee yesterday (Wednesday,) but Rep. Alan Harper, R-Northport, a sponsor of the bill, wants to amend it to include a description of the distribution of proceeds, which are expected to be shared between Education Trust Fund and the General Fund.
“Our vote today is for our citizens’ right to vote on a constitutional amendment,” Harper said before voting. “It’s not about us voting for or against a lottery. Our vote today is to allow the people to vote.”
According to Rep. Harper and Sen. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, who sponsors a Senate version of the bill, they are both fulfilling their constituents’ demands.McClendon expressed: “They asked me, ‘Why don’t we have a lottery in Alabama? I said, ‘Well, we’ve got a Constitution that says we can’t have a lottery.'”
The legislation is not without opponents in both chambers, who object the moral merits of the creation of a lottery in the state. “Christ is nowhere in the lottery,” claimed Rep. Rich Wingo, R-Tuscaloosa. “He is nowhere in gambling. I think we all know that.”
If the bill is approved by the Legislature, voters will decide in November if they want to amend the state’s constitution, which forbids lotteries, to create one.
