Alabama lottery bill faces battle in House

Aug 21, 2016, 8:03 am (13 comments)

Alabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Senators thought the lottery proposal they approved Friday directed 10 percent of the revenue toward Alabama's education budget, but it doesn't.

An amendment was added earlier Friday to Senate Bill 3 to give the education budget a slice of the lottery money. But a subsequent amendment to send the first $100 million in revenue to the state Medicaid agency, deleted the education allocation.

Whether that amendment will get back into the bill is now unknown.

"I'm going to talk to the House and tell them what the intent was, but the reality is, the House may not want to put any money to education," Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh said Saturday morning.

The education funding amendment was from Sen. Greg Reed, R-Jasper. On Saturday, he said there would be an effort to get that 90/10 split language added in the House.

That change, or any other one, would mean the bill would have to come back to the Senate for approval.

Reed's amendment was approved on a 22-7 vote.

The lottery bill then passed the Senate 21-7. Had one less senator voted for the proposal, it would have failed.

"There is a real gamble with that thing coming back (to the Senate)," Marsh said. "The worst thing that could happen is that they put the 10 percent on there, send it back to me, and I can't get 21 votes."

Marsh said he thinks at least two senators voted for the legislation because it had the education funding.

Sen. Bill Holtzclaw, R-Madison, advocated on the Senate floor for more money for education, saying that's what his constituents wanted. His two amendments to send 30 or 40 percent of the revenue to education failed.

The lottery, which Gov. Robert Bentley has said will generate at least $225 million a year for the struggling General Fund and specifically Medicaid, faces a battle in the House.

Constitutional amendments need support from at least three-fifths of lawmakers. That's at least 63 House members.

Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, said Saturday morning she'll likely be a "no" vote. Regardless of a possible allocation for education, the chairwoman of the House Education Policy Committee said she doesn't think lotteries are a good way to fund state government because they're a revenue source that doesn't grow.

"If we're going to count on it for increasing expenses that we know the General Fund has, we're setting ourselves up for a budgeting system that won't work," Collins said. "It's not effective."

Prior to the session, Collins said she didn't like the idea of passing a lottery bill in a special session with a looming deadline. In order to get a proposed constitutional amendment to voters Nov. 8, lawmakers have to approve it by Wednesday. They return to Montgomery on Tuesday.

"My concern from the beginning was that we wouldn't be able to do something wise in nine days, and now we're being asked to do something wise in two days," Collins said. "I have concerns about that."

Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Greenhill, said Saturday he plans to vote for the proposal because that's what most of his constituents have asked him to do.

"I'm not saying I'm for the lottery, I'm saying I'm for letting people have their constitutional right to vote on it," Pettus said. "If it don't pass, it don't pass, but let the people speak."

Senate Bill 3 is Bentley's proposal. He said the multiple amendments added in the Senate made it a better bill, including the one to send 10 percent of the money to education.

"With a 90/10, we can at least say it's partly an education lottery," Bentley said Friday.

Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, had the bill amended to say that legislators or statewide elected officials and their family members cannot work for the lottery commission created in the bill.

Other amendments:

  • Prohibit the use of lottery proceeds to advertise or promote the lottery;
  • Prohibit the hiring of lobbyists by the commission;
  • Specify that no other activity beyond the lottery is allowed under the proposal.

Times Daily

Comments

LiveInGreenBay's avatarLiveInGreenBay

I have a radical idea... Just let the voters in Alabama decide.  These politicians will just argue until the cows come home.  Also, let them decide where the lottery money goes.  Make it multiple choice on the ballot.  A)  Medicaid.  B) Education.  C) The governors pocket.

helpmewin's avatarhelpmewin

Quote: Originally posted by LiveInGreenBay on Aug 21, 2016

I have a radical idea... Just let the voters in Alabama decide.  These politicians will just argue until the cows come home.  Also, let them decide where the lottery money goes.  Make it multiple choice on the ballot.  A)  Medicaid.  B) Education.  C) The governors pocket.

Maybe there can be enough money for all 3 I Agree!

RedStang's avatarRedStang

Quote: Originally posted by LiveInGreenBay on Aug 21, 2016

I have a radical idea... Just let the voters in Alabama decide.  These politicians will just argue until the cows come home.  Also, let them decide where the lottery money goes.  Make it multiple choice on the ballot.  A)  Medicaid.  B) Education.  C) The governors pocket.

I agree. These Alabama residents want a Lottery.

Groppo's avatarGroppo

.

Man, I'm glad I don't live in Alabama.
And, I will do my very best to avoid that state, when I'm driving around in my car.
I don't drive the big truck anymore.   It's not a bad state, with its rolling green hills,
but the powers-that-be can't decide how to get a state lotto going? 

Don't they want to ask a neighboring state for help in deciding, since they can't?
Or how to appropriate the funds?

Then, I guess they do deserve to have their residents go out of state, and spend
their money. I know I would (which would never happen, or course).

Bleudog101

Quote: Originally posted by Groppo on Aug 21, 2016

.

Man, I'm glad I don't live in Alabama.
And, I will do my very best to avoid that state, when I'm driving around in my car.
I don't drive the big truck anymore.   It's not a bad state, with its rolling green hills,
but the powers-that-be can't decide how to get a state lotto going? 

Don't they want to ask a neighboring state for help in deciding, since they can't?
Or how to appropriate the funds?

Then, I guess they do deserve to have their residents go out of state, and spend
their money. I know I would (which would never happen, or course).

I love your post and reflect many of my sentiments to a 'T'.

 

If they were smart (which the politicians aren't), they'd do some checking on the coffers from neighboring lottery states.

 

One time I'd love to go to that Primm lotto store in California just to see how many Nevada tagged cars there are when the lottery is sky high.  Same thing here @ the casino; more Kentucky tagged vehicles there than Indiana ALL the time.

haymaker's avatarhaymaker

Quote: Originally posted by Bleudog101 on Aug 21, 2016

I love your post and reflect many of my sentiments to a 'T'.

 

If they were smart (which the politicians aren't), they'd do some checking on the coffers from neighboring lottery states.

 

One time I'd love to go to that Primm lotto store in California just to see how many Nevada tagged cars there are when the lottery is sky high.  Same thing here @ the casino; more Kentucky tagged vehicles there than Indiana ALL the time.

Almost everyone there is from Nevada, any Cali tags there forgot to get their tix before they left home.

The smart people from Nevada will bypass the long line there when the JP is outsized and go to Nipton station, farther south in Cali.

Bleudog101

Quote: Originally posted by haymaker on Aug 21, 2016

Almost everyone there is from Nevada, any Cali tags there forgot to get their tix before they left home.

The smart people from Nevada will bypass the long line there when the JP is outsized and go to Nipton station, farther south in Cali.

You are correct, I remember seeing Nipton on the news when the Powerball was $1.6 Billion and showing folks driving there.

 

On a side note, am ambivalent about Borgata being bought out by MGM...will be several months @ least before we can take a comp trip to AC!!

Honeybee01's avatarHoneybee01

Living Life

LiveInGreenBay's avatarLiveInGreenBay

Quote: Originally posted by RedStang on Aug 21, 2016

I agree. These Alabama residents want a Lottery.

LOL RedStang...Funny picture.  No comment.

ressuccess's avatarressuccess

I hope they get the lottery bill passes through the house and the senate to get a Powerball and Mega Millions.

Tatototman65's avatarTatototman65

Good luck!

Smile

Bleudog101

Quote: Originally posted by Tatototman65 on Aug 22, 2016

Good luck!

Smile

I say 'Auf Wiedersehen!'  Doubt anything will get accomplished.  Vote the bums out.

winsumloosesum's avatarwinsumloosesum

Lottery bill blocked on Alabama House floor, won’t be on November ballot

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