Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams recently said she backs a state constitutional amendment to legalize casino and sports gambling. She said she’d use gaming tax revenue to fund need-based financial aid, provide free technical college and restore the state’s HOPE merit scholarships to high-school students who earn a “C” average or above.
Abrams, who’s challenging Republican Governor Brian Kemp, said new tax dollars from legalized gambling would provide a “permanent source of revenue to underwrite broader access to education.”
She said, “Studies project that the potential for billions exists in economic impact, funds that will not only finance our efforts to replenish and expand the HOPE scholarship but it will also provide new economic opportunities for Georgia that can grow jobs and make our economy stronger for everyone. We can turbocharge higher education and economic opportunity for all of Georgia’s students.”
Governors from both parties have opposed gambling expansion ever since the HOPE scholarship, funded by the state lottery, was authorized in the early 1990s. Proposed gambling expansion bills have continually failed every year in the Georgia legislature. A constitutional amendment allowing casino gambling and sports betting would require approval from two-thirds of the legislature and a majority of Georgia voters in a referendum.
Besides supporting expanded gambling, Abrams has called for using a portion of the state’s large surplus to finance much-needed priorities.
“Hear me clearly, we don’t have to raise taxes. All we have to do is raise our expectations of those who lead us,” Abrams said. The state ended its fiscal year in June with a $5 billion surplus on top of $2.3 billion from the previous year, plus a legally protected $4.3 billion rainy day fund.
Abrams said Kemp’s economic policies focused on low taxes and low spending, are “extreme and unpopular,” and are damaging the state’s business reputation and economic development opportunities.
