Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, could not convince enough Alabama senators to pass his 43-page Senate Bill (SB) 380 legalizing slot machine gambling labeled as electronic bingo. But when he shortened the bill and allowed legislators — not voters — to regulate the number, location and operations of the casinos, Bedford found the 21 votes needed to pass it from the Senate.
Now gambling opponents and supporters have turned their attention to the Alabama House. Opponents are attempting to maintain the illegal status of slot machine gambling while supporters are attempting to legalize the activity that has repeatedly stalled the Legislature, clogged the court system and deadlocked two of the state’s top executive officials.
The 21–13 vote came March 30 after Bedford acquired three key votes from Sens. Bobby Denton, D-Muscle Shoals; Jim Preuitt, D-Talladega; and Larry Means, D-Attalla. If it passes the House, it will go before Alabama residents for a vote.
Hours before the vote, senators opposing the bill were not allowed to participate in the debate. Right after the bill was introduced, pro-gambling Sens. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, and Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, began filibustering until another senator asked for cloture to stop the debate.
Anti-gambling senators had hoped to present an amendment giving Alabamians what they called a “clear vote” on gambling, but they were kept from speaking until less than 30 minutes before the vote was called.
“It’s time the people understand what’s going on in the Senate,” said Sen. Paul Sanford, R-Huntsville, after he realized there was not enough time to present his amendment. “They don’t want the truth to be out. They don’t want to discuss the positives and negatives of this issue. … Why is it they stand up here and say let the people vote but they do not let the senators have a say on the bill? … It is a disservice to the state of Alabama. … Today is a perfect example of how government does not function for the citizens of Alabama.”
Sen. Hank Erwin, R-Montevallo, said the vote was a “display of brute, raw power.”
“They did their deed for the gamblers of Alabama,” he added. “We fought gallantly, and I’m proud of all 13 (senators) that stood there tall and determined. They gave their best effort, but we came up short and it’s now up to the rest of the Legislature.”
Joe Godfrey, executive director of Alabama Citizens Action Program, said pro-gambling senators “rammed the bill through.”
“It was never a debate,” he said. “They talk about letting the people vote, but if they run it through the House like they did the Senate, only one side will get this story out.”
Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, said the push to pass the bill was so strong no amendments from either side were allowed — amendments that would have made “the bill more tolerable and better for the people of Alabama.”
“It just shows the power that gambling interests have in the state of Alabama right now,” he said. “They ran the senators. They ran the lieutenant governor. They had a complete solid front.”
At press time, SB 380 redefined bingo to include machines that perform the game without player interaction and allowed an unlimited number of gambling operations around the state. The bill requires at least a 25 percent tax on bingo revenue (the amount after payouts are given) but left it to legislators to decide whether to add license fees to bingo operations.
Bedford’s bill also establishes a five-member gaming commission appointed under the heavy influence of the Senate. Unlike his initial legislation, the bill does not repeal or affect any of the local constitutional amendments but does not require “bingo” operators to follow the amendments if their businesses are approved by the proposed gaming commission.
After the vote, Erwin tried to raise concern with Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom, D-Cullman, about possible conflicts of interest within the Senate body since some voting senators represent charities operating gambling facilities. Although Folsom took several voice votes supporting SB 380, he refused to answer Erwin saying he did not hear the question.
“We were trying to raise the point that you’ve got a vote here that is very difficult to justify because it reeks of a conflict of interest,” Erwin said. “I tried to present the evidence to the lieutenant governor for a ruling, but he refused to hear the point of order.”
According to The Associated Press, Bedford said the state’s financial problems helped him pass the bill.
“We need the hundreds of millions of dollars of voluntary revenue that will come from electronic bingo,” he reportedly said. “It’s time we end these nighttime raids without search warrants or subpoenas.”
Gov. Bob Riley said this bill is about “corruption” not gambling.
“This is the most corrupt piece of legislation ever considered by the Senate,” he said in a press release. “Gambling always brings corruption with it wherever it goes. Alabamians should ask themselves one question about this bill: do they think we will have less corruption or more corruption if it passes?”
Riley calls the bill a “blank check.”
“It lets legislators come back next year and decide where to put casinos, and they will put them wherever the powerful gambling interests who contribute to their campaigns want them. … This bill doesn’t limit gambling. It expands it to potentially every community and to all forms of gambling, not just slot machines. … This bill also allows gambling interests to continue laundering campaign contributions through [political action committees]. Other states that allow gambling have restricted campaign contributions from gambling interests to prevent corruption. This bill does not.”
Although disappointed, Godfrey said gambling opponents at the Statehouse “still trust in the Lord and know He is in charge.”
“Time is running out, but the pressure is going to be intense,” he said. “We are already hearing that pro-gambling forces are already applying pressure to House members to get them to vote for this bill. … We don’t think they have the votes, but just like they peeled votes off here (in the Senate) they are going to try to peel votes off in the House.”
Godfrey said it’s more important than ever for Christians to contact their representatives and respectfully ask them to oppose SB380.
“They need to call in large numbers,” he added. “We need to burn the phone lines up at the Statehouse and send letters, cards and e-mails. There needs to be an outpouring that would stun the House members. … They shouted us down (at the anti-gambling rally) in February. They didn’t allow the opposition to debate the bill March 30, and if it passes the House and goes to the people for a vote you can rest assured they are going to try to silence us and control the airwaves and media so the people of Alabama will not get to hear the down side of gambling.”
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