Members of the Alabama House want to make several changes to a Senate-passed bill establishing a state lottery. State Rep. Steve Clouse, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said, “I think it will be very, very close. It was as close as you can get in the Senate and probably as close as you get in the House.”
One change some lawmakers are seeking would change how the estimated $166 million in annual revenue would be spent. The Senate version would use the money to repay money the state borrowed in 2012 from a state savings account to prevent budget cuts. After repaying that loan, the money would be divided between the state general and state savings accounts. But Clouse wants the money to go exclusively to the general fund to address prison and Medicaid expenses.
Clouse said the bill also faces opposition from lawmakers who are against legalized gambling as well as those who want to allow video lottery terminals. The Senate version authorizes paper tickets, including instant tickets and multi-state lottery games, but video lottery terminals, which some say resemble slot machines.
The bill’s author, state Senator Greg Albritton, said the bill will be sent back to the Senate if the House makes any changes; that could jeopardize support in the Senate, where the measure passed with the minimum 21 required votes. “I wish I know where we stood. This may be deja vu all over again,” Albritton said, referring to a lottery bill that failed in the state Senate in 2016 after the House made changes to it.
Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh said he talking to House leadership about the impact of changes on Senate support for the legislation. “You saw how close that vote was up here and there are certain individuals that if something changes I think I lose that vote,” Marsh said.
Alabama is one of five states, along with Utah, Alaska, Hawaii and Nevada, that does not have a state lottery. Alabama voters rejected a state lottery in 1999 proposed by former Governor Don Siegelman. In 2016, former Governor Robert Bentley called for a state lottery to help resolve the state’s budget crisis, but the measure failed in the legislature. “Everyone around us has it and it’s very hard to explain to people in your Sunday School class why we don’t have it here,” Clouse said.
