In Alabama—one of five U.S. states without a lottery—state Rep. Steve Clouse announced he plans to introduce measure that would create a state lottery and use the profits to fund the pre-kindergarten programs and provide college scholarships.
“Last year, it was evident in the House that the money had to go to education. I think it’s generally been accepted around the nation that lottery money should go toward education,” Clouse said.
His bill responds to Governor Kay Ivey’s Strong Start, Strong Finish initiative for pre-K through post-secondary education. Currently the state’s voluntary pre-K program is funded to reach only 40 percent of eligible four-year-olds. “There’s plenty of room for growth,” Clouse said.
In 2019, the state Senate passed a lottery bill that would have sent proceeds to the General Fund to support non-education agencies, however, the measure died in the House.
Previous forecasts estimated a state lottery could generate $166 million a year. But not all lawmakers want to direct lottery proceeds strictly to education. “There will be other recommendations for the money. That’s fine. We’ll just see where the conversation goes,” Clouse said. For example, state Rep. Lynn Greer said, “I’ve always supported the lottery, but I won’t support this if it’s just for education. They want to put half of it into a play school but we need to teach kids to read and write, we need to get more teachers and we need to pay them more.” Greer said he wants some of the money to go into the General Fund and allow flexibility in spending from year to year.
Legislators also will consider the Poarch Band of Creek Indians’ recent proposal to pay the state $225 million for the exclusive right to operate casino games in Alabama, at its three existing casinos and two additional sites in north Alabama. The state also would receive a negotiated share of annual revenue. The tribe claims it could produce $1 billion annually for the state, including revenue sharing, taxes and license fees. It’s running a public relations campaign, “Winning for Alabama,” in support of the compact.
State Senator Greg Albritton, the Senate General Fund budget committee chairman, whose district includes the Poarch Band’s Atmore casino and tribal offices, said the tribe has “approached it in a way that makes sense. Right now, as far as I know, that’s the only plan out there. That revenue would resolve the issues we have in Alabama.”
House Speaker Mac McCutcheon stated, “I think there’s a few issues that need to be discussed. We’re not trying to create a monopoly for one group when it comes to gambling. We need to keep it competitive. I would hope there is some room in there for negotiations and compromise.” He added, “The key is going to lie if we can bring the local issue and the Poarch Creek issue together. What will the Poarch Creek Indians accept? What will the locals accept and how can we work out a compromise?”
Poarch Band officials have said they do not oppose a traditional paper lottery but would not support a lottery bill that would include electronic lottery terminals at the state’s dog tracks, like unsuccessful measure proposed last year by state Senator Jim McClendon.
However, Clouse said the lottery and the Poarch Band offer are two separate issues. He explained the lottery would require a voter referendum and does not require the governor’s signature. A tribal gaming would require the governor’s approval.
McClendon recently introduced new legislation that’s also designed to limit the influence of the Poarch Creek Band. McClendon’s proposal would prohibit candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and the legislature from receiving contributions from anyone connected to racing, parimutuel betting or any other gambling operation. It also would ban anyone associated with the gambling industry from making contributions to candidates for those offices.
McClendon said, “The purpose of this legislation is to get things in Alabama back in balance. I am not making claims of undue influence based on monetary contributions, but we must be wary of the appearance of undue influence based on campaign contributions.”
McClendon said restrictions on campaign contributions are nothing new in Alabama; for example, utilities are banned from donating to candidates for the Public Service Commission. He noted other states have restricted campaign contribution from gambling interests.
