Legislators moved back into the State House in Montgomery Feb. 3 as the 2004 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature began. Almost immediately the debate over potential budget cuts surfaced.
Gov. Bob Riley wants a special session in order to deal specifically with the state’s financial woes, but many legislators are fighting him on that request.
The who, what, when and where of finding money to pay for existing state responsibilities, as well as proposed new programs, has captured the attention of all officials involved.
At the same time, it is rumored that gambling legislation will soon land on the floors of the House and Senate with a vengeance.
As of the second legislative day, Feb. 4, only one of the 566 bills submitted at that point in both houses directly indicated a gambling focus — House Bill (HB) 147.
Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, sponsored the bill, which would call for a constitutional amendment. The bill is currently in the Tourism and Travel Committee.
Gambling bills lurking
Dan Ireland, executive director of Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP), said, “HB 147 would repeal section 65 of our constitution, which in reality opens the state to any and all forms of gambling.
“It does not deal strictly with a lottery,” Ireland said, explaining that section 65 deals with “lottery-type gambling” and “casino gambling is lottery-type gambling.”
Rep. Arthur Payne, R-Trussville, does not think the legislation will pass. “We are not going to let the gambling bills through.”
Other legislation Ireland is following — HB 58 in the House and SB 48 in the Senate — deals with home delivery of wine.
“There are a lot of problems with this bill,” Ireland explained — there is no limit on the size of the bottles, each person in a house can order up to 24 bottles a month, and there is the potential for underage drinkers to obtain wine.
Also, “If you are going to allow this for wine, then you will have to allow it for liquor and beer,” he added. Another issue is the taxation. The bill calls for an annual payment of taxes from the direct sales companies, while local distributors have to pay taxes monthly.
Other bills submitted include:
Calling for doctors who perform abortions in Alabama to have hospital admitting privileges in the state.
Requiring a Ten Commandments/historical documents display in public buildings.
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