An Alabama Senate committee heard objections to gambling legislation in a committee meeting Wednesday.
But what that legislation will look like will remain a mystery.
The Senate Tourism Committee’s meeting Wednesday was posted with little notice and with neither of the two gambling bills that passed the Alabama House earlier this month on the agenda.
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But the committee held a public hearing on the bills Wednesday, dominated entirely by opponents of the legislation.
The committee did not vote after senators and people who spoke at the hearing criticized the lack of information on the proposal.
Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, who is carrying the legislation in the Senate, said Wednesday at least two proposed substitutes for the House legislation have been filed. But he hasn’t seen either.
“All I know is yesterday they came forward with a one sheet of paper with concepts,” said Albritton to reporters after the meeting. “I never got the sub. Then last night I was informed at 8:20 p.m. that there was another sub being worked on.”
He declined to say who “they” were.
Albritton told reporters that he liked the House bills but thought there were “poison pills” in them.
“I was right,” he said. “But anyway, we– I like what the bill is. I’m willing to take what they have. But we got to make some compromises.”
As passed by the House, the legislation would create a state lottery and authorize seven casinos around the state and sports wagering, along with a state gambling commission to enforce the laws. The legislation would also direct Gov. Kay Ivey to negotiate a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, who run casinos in Atmore, Montgomery and Wetumpka.
The package consists of a constitutional amendment authorizing a lottery and gambling, which would have to be approved by state voters, and an enabling act directing enforcement and distribution of gambling revenues. The law directs lottery revenues to education programs and casino and sports wagering money to non-education program, but gives the Legislature broad discretion to distribute the money.
A late start
The Wednesday committee started late, and the ranking minority member Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, proposed that they cancel the meeting until the chair arrived roughly 20 minutes after the start time.
Sen. Randy Price, R-Opelika, the chair of the committee, apologized for the delay. In response to a question from Smitherman, said “things are in working progress.”
Smitherman said Democrats were left out of the negotiations over the bill. Traditionally, Democratic support has been required to pass any gambling bill.
“Why would people think that we are supposed to support something that we ain’t had nothing to do directly to develop it whatsoever?” he said.
Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, the vice chair of the committee, said if the committee tried to vote any legislation out, he would vote no or move to table the bills.
“I want to make that very clear because this is not how you run government,” he said.
Speakers on the bill, all of whom were opponents, questioned the legislation and the process.
Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, who pushed for the last vote on an Alabama lottery in 1999, said the Legislature would have trouble if a gaming commission being viewed as politicized. He also said the state would have trouble attracting gaming facilities if their operations were limited to specific locations.
“What drew me here today was my objection to the way the Alabama lottery is formatted in this original legislation,” he said.
Siegelman said he had wanted to guarantee that all children had a high-quality education, but this bill does not do that.
Vestavia Hills City Councilor Kimberly Cook raised concerns about not knowing what the legislation looked like and the part of the House bill that would allow gambling in Birmingham.
“The press says there is a substitute bill, as many of you are aware, and this bill we won’t even get to see it before it’s voted on,” she said. “This is nuts and it isn’t right. It’s not right for the people to not know what’s in the bill before it gets dropped and before it’s voted on the next day.”
Smitherman said he did not believe that a Vestavia Hills official should be involved in Birmingham.
Robbie McGhee, the vice chair of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians’ tribal council, said the Poarch Band were not satisfied with the legislation, and called for a specific timeline for compact negotiations and “the opportunity to submit one final bid exceeding the highest bidder” on casino properties.
“It’s important to us as a people to be successful and to use what we have to build a better Alabama,” he said.
At the end of the committee meeting, Albritton asked to postpone the bills for another day and said he would not rush them through.
“I want that recognition and I want the other side or whoever that may be to come to the table and compromise and to work with a means so that we can meet the needs that have been specified by these people and in other discussions,” he said.
In conversation with Smitherman, Albritton said these bills could not move forward with the support of only one party.
“We’ve got to come together,” he said. “That’s what our job is.”
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Albritton said he had requested the meeting but decided to forgo a vote amid the concerns.
“Welcome to the legislative process,” he said.
