Video gambling suffered another blow in Alabama when the House of Representatives failed to collect enough votes in favor of hearing legislation supporting the much-debated activity.
When representatives across the state registered their April 3 vote for the Budget Isolation Resolution (BIR) — which is required to vote on any bill before the general fund and education budgets are passed — the request to bring House Bill (HB) 280 to the floor failed. HB 280 would allow for unlimited cash payouts for video gambling machines at the state’s four dog tracks.
While the vote was 53 in favor and 45 against, three-fifths of those present must vote in favor of the BIR for the bill to be heard. Out of the 105 representatives, six were not present to vote and one abstained, so 59 votes (three-fifths of 98) were needed for the BIR.
Dan Ireland, executive director of Alabama Citizens Action Program, has been working against HB 280 as well as all bills promoting gambling of any form in Alabama.
“We were expecting a close vote,” said Ireland, a member of Green Valley Baptist Church, Hoover. “Prior to the BIR vote there was a lot of discussion about whether the bill promotes casino gambling, but there were no conclusions,” he said, noting he is convinced the legislation would open the door for casino-style gambling in the state.
Ireland said citizens across the state helped make the difference in the vote. Several e-mail alerts, including one from The Alabama Baptist, and phone calls went out requesting that constituents contact their representatives about the issue. And the people did that, Ireland said.
“I would encourage the people to call and thank the representatives who voted no on the BIR,” Ireland said. “I also hope the people will call the representatives who voted yes or did not vote for the BIR and urge them to vote no on such legislation in the future.”
Rep. Arthur Payne, R-Birmingham, said he tried to stop the bill from ever making it to the House floor. A member of the House rules committee, Payne made a motion April 1 that HB 280 be removed from the special order calendar. “HB 280 will mandate casino gambling in Jefferson County (as well as Macon, Mobile and Greene counties) without a vote of the people,” Payne said.
But Rep. Albert Hall, D-Gurley, made a motion to table Payne’s motion and Hall’s motion carried.
Voting to table Payne’s motion, which kept HB 280 on the calendar, were: Hall; Rep. Jack Venable, D-Tallassee (chairman of the committee); Rep. Bill Clark, D-Prichard; Rep. James Busky, D-Mobile; Rep. Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill; Rep. Neal Morrison, D-Cullman; and Rep. George Perdue, D-Birmingham.
Voting against tabling Payne’s motion, which would have allowed a vote to remove HB 280 from the calendar, were: Payne; Rep. Warren Beck, R-Geneva; Rep. Jim Carns, R-Birmingham; and Rep. Blaine Galliher, R-Gadsden.
The result meant HB 280 earned the top spot out of nine bills on the special order calendar for the House April 3.
Speaker of the House Seth Hammett helps determine the order of bills on the House calendar. While Hammett was unavailable for comment April 4, his chief of staff Jeff Woodard said the bill was given top play because of the fact that it is a gambling bill.
“Gambling legislation tends to cause problems on the House floor if you don’t dispose of it. If you don’t deal with the bills, they start affecting other bills and causing suspicions,” Woodard said. “[Speaker Hammett] would prefer to put the legislation on the top of the calendar and dispose of it one way or the other.”
This is true every legislative year, Woodard noted, responding to questions of many who ask why gambling bills muscle their way to the top spots during each session.
While HB 280 also received a welcomed spot on the calendar early in the session, it has little chance of succeeding now, Woodard said. HB 280 will return to its spot on the regular order calendar, which is far enough down that it will more than likely not surface again, Woodard said. Bills are assigned a spot on the regular calendar in order of when reported out of committee. HB 280 was reported out of the tourism and travel committee March 12, so “there are several bills in front of it,” Woodard said. This year’s session began March 4.
Robert Sertell, a consultant and educator for casinos, questions why such legislation is even being discussed. Federal law prohibits gambling unless a state passes laws stating otherwise, said Sertell. “Alabama has passed no such law (statewide), so Alabama citizens are under federal law prohibitives of gambling.”
Sertell also noted the December 2002 ruling by the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals stating that video gambling is illegal in Alabama. “This is the binding law for Alabama,” said Sertell, who has served as an expert witness in at least six court cases in Alabama dealing with video gambling. “The only way that can be overruled is by the state Supreme Court. Until they hear the case or overrule the case, the civil appeals court ruling is law.”
Woodard said the current decision is “not an enforceable ruling” because the period to file a notice of civil appeals to the Supreme Court has not lapsed. The courts continue to deal with the legality, so the Legislature is debating the rules in case it is legalized, he said.
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