When it comes to expanding health care services for rural and poor people in Alabama, the Legislature is rolling the dice on gambling. With few days left in the legislative session, the GOP-controlled Legislature’s answer to a possible health care expansion is wrapped into a legislative proposal to earmark new gambling revenues for “the provision of health care services, including rural health .
Alabama gambling legislation advances; vote could come Thursday
Updated May 05, 2021;
Posted May 04, 2021
The Alabama House Economic Development and Tourism Committee discusses a constitutional amendment to allow a lottery and six new casinos.
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A plan to start a lottery, six new casinos, and sports betting advanced today in the Alabama Legislature.
The main bill in the package, a constitutional amendment that would be subject to approval by voters in November 2022, was hashed out in a public hearing that started shortly after 11 a.m.
After the public hearing and a discussion, the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee approved the bill on a voice vote.
A sweeping measure that would allow voters to decide whether to create a lottery and bring legal casino-style gambling to Alabama won House committee approval Tuesday, setting up a major decision for the chamber in the last days of the session.
But the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee s approval of the amendment, SB 319, came after an hourlong public hearing dominated by opponents of the measure, including a former Alabama governor, who raised concerns about the bill s structure and its impact on excluded facilities in Greene and Lowndes counties. You’re putting us in a hole, you’re burying us, and I think that is not fair, said Rep. Kelvin Lawrence, D-Hayneville, whose district includes Lowndes County.