For the second straight year, Rep. Artis McCampbell, D-Linden, and Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, are asking state legislators to significantly expand electronic bingo gambling in Greene County. Although some state leaders are calling House Bill 363 and Senate Bill 135 unconstitutional, the identical bills moved quickly out of their committees only three weeks into the legislative session.
If passed, the bills would “create a casino atmosphere rather than a game of bingo for a charitable organization,” according to Eric Johnston, president of and general counsel for the Southeast Law Institute in Birmingham.
“These bills significantly expand bingo beyond what [Greene County’s bingo amendment] allows,” he said. “These bills would permit, among other things, electronic games, the operation of games 24/7, the linking of … games with other locations — not just at the Greene County facility — (and) the sale of alcohol at the facility.”
Yet Johnston said the most objectionable feature of the bills is the attempt to give state legislators power to implement the bills, which suggests disregard for the “high requirements of their office.”
“If the Legislature wants to expand bingo operations in Greene County, it must do so by constitutional amendment,” he said. “Only a proper vote of the people can do this. There is no other alternative.” (TAB)
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