A sweeping proposal to create a state lottery, numerous casinos and legal sports betting failed in the Alabama Senate on March 9, due in part to pressure from Baptists across the state.
Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, sponsored the measure filed as Senate Bill 214. After the vote, Marsh told Alabama Media Group that he was “called by some of my Baptist preachers that didn’t like the bill. … It’s amazing to me. You want to get a legislator’s attention, it only takes about six phone calls.”
SB 214 failed by a 19–13 vote (see “How they voted” below). The bill needed 21 votes to pass the 35-member Senate.
Almost immediately, six bills dealing with the establishment of a lottery and oversight of proceeds from a lottery were filed.
Marsh entered SB 309, SB 310 and SB 311; SB 318 was introduced by Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman; and Sen. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, introduced SB 319 and SB 320.
“These new bills are ‘lottery only,’ but people need to realize that if a ‘lottery only’ bill passes the Senate, is amended in the House and goes to a conference committee in order to reach a compromise, it can be changed to include casinos,” said Joe Godfrey, executive director of Alabama Citizens Action Program, in a Facebook post March 11. “The gambling bosses are not giving up and going away quietly! We must continue to flood the phones and email boxes of Alabama senators asking them to oppose all gambling bills.”
In a March 10 statement, the Alabama Policy Institute cautioned against renewed attempts to expand gambling in the state and praised “those senators who took the time to dig into the workings of SB 214 and voted against it.”
Phil Williams, API’s chief policy officer and general counsel, said SB 214 “died under its own weight, combined with the fact that the gambling interests turned it into a feeding frenzy.”
The debate may not be over, however. Godfrey said if the people approve a “lottery only” constitutional amendment, he said, the legislators could add casinos without a vote of the people because the amendment changes the definition.
Fight goes on
“We must not give up fighting for the conservative and family values in our state,” Godfrey said.
Marsh’s bill also called for Gov. Kay Ivey to enter a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, which operates three casinos in Alabama under federal law.
Ivey has said she wants a vote on the gambling issue before she attempts to make a compact with the Poarch Band.
Other bills under review
Three gambling-related bills similar to Marsh’s proposals were introduced in the House on Feb. 2 by Rep. John W. Rogers Jr., D-Birmingham. Those bills are now with the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee.
- House Bill 161 would legalize sports wagering.
- HB 199 would legalize a state-sponsored lottery.
- HB 200 would legalize casino gambling.
Other bills still under consideration by the Legislature include:
- SB 10, known as the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act (similar to HB 1), would prohibit gender change therapy for minors
- SB 46, which would legalize medical marijuana
- SB 287 and HB 101, which are related to alcohol sales
- HB 246, a measure to allow local boards of education to offer yoga to students in grades K–12.
Read more on all of these bills and the latest legislative updates at tabonline.org/2021-session.
How they voted
19 in favor of the gambling legislation
Greg Albritton (R)
William Beasley (D)
Donnie Chesteen (R)
Linda Coleman-Madison (D)
Vivian Figures (D)
Kirk Hatcher (D)
Jimmy Holley (R)
Andrew Jones (R)
Steve Livingston (R)
Del Marsh (R)
Jim McClendon (R)
Tim Melson (R)
Randy Price (R)
Greg Reed (R)
Bobby Singleton (D)
Rodger Smitherman (D)
Jabo Waggoner (R)
Tom Whatley (R)
Jack Williams (R)
13 against the gambling legislation
Gerald Allen (R)
Will Barfoot (R)
Tom Butler (R)
Clyde Chambliss (R)
Chris Elliott (R)
Sam Givhan (R)
Garlan Gudger (R)
Arthur Orr (R)
Dan Roberts (R)
Clay Scofield (R)
David Sessions (R)
Shay Shelnutt (R)
Larry Stutts (R)
Did not vote: Priscilla Dunn (D); Malika Sanders-Fortier (D)
Click here to see related story.
Share with others: