Alabama state Senator Jim McClendon has proposed a constitutional amendment that would let voters decide if they want a lottery. Amendments to the Alabama constitution require approval of three-fifths of the members of the House of Representatives and Senate, then approval by voters in a referendum. McClendon’s three-page bill reads: “Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to allow the Legislature to pass general laws to implement a lottery to be operated on behalf and for the benefit of the state.” McLendon said if the referendum passed the legislature could work out the logistics later. State Rep. Alan Harper will sponsor the bill in the House of Representatives, McClendon said.
State Rep. Craig Ford, House Democratic majority leader, also will
Sponsor—for the seventh time–a bill allowing a statewide lottery, with proceeds funding scholarships to Alabama’s two-year and four-year colleges. “I believe there’s more support now than ever before for a lottery, but we have to make sure we do it the right way,” he said.
Alabama is one of just six states without a lottery, including Mississippi, Utah, Nevada, Hawaii and Alaska.
Voters rejected then-Governor Don Siegelman’s lottery proposal in 1999 by a margin of 54 percent to 46 percent. However, McClendon said people tell him they drive to neighboring states to buy lottery tickets. “They cannot understand why Alabama doesn’t offer what 44 other states in America offer, and that is the opportunity to have your own lottery. And this bill will give them the chance to express themselves,” he said.
McClendon also emphasized his bill would not open any “back door” to casino gambling. “We spent a great deal of time with attorneys, people that are very learned in the issue of gambling, particularly in Alabama, to make it so that this bill is a lottery bill and nothing else,” McClendon said.
However, Ford said voters may not support a lottery unless it was dedicated to education. “I’ve talked with people all over the state. They want a lottery, but they don’t want it for prisons or Medicaid. Almost every single person I’ve talked to says they’ll vote against it if it’s not an education lottery,” he stated.
