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A group of Alabama lawmakers delayed a public meeting on Wednesday (April 24) as House and Senate members continue to try and reach a compromise on a package of gaming bills that have divided the two legislative chambers.
House Bills 151 and 152 were approved by the House in February, amending the state’s constitution to permit commercial casinos, mobile sports betting, and a state lottery.
However, the Senate scaled down the bills before passing them in March, keeping a state lottery in the legislation but removing provisions to allow for casinos and sports betting. Senators instead included language to convert seven existing gaming facilities into pari-mutuel licensees that can offer historical horseracing terminals.
The Senate version would also require Republican Governor Kay Ivey to negotiate a Class III gaming compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
Republican Senator Garlan Gudger, who is one of three senators on the conference committee, said members of the panel formed to try to reconcile the bills have asked Alabama's Legislative Services Agency to map out the differences in the two proposals to see “what the House placed in, and the Senate placed in, talk about each one and see which is best.”
“From that, we will see what we agree upon, what we disagree upon,” Gudger told Alabama Public Television’s Capitol Journal program on Tuesday.
“And what we agree upon, obviously, we’ve got that handled but what we disagree upon, that’s some of where the rubber will meet the road between us and we’ve had some good discussions.”
Gudger said he was “still very optimistic” that a compromise could ultimately be reached.
The Senate conferees are Gudger, Republican Senator Greg Albritton, and Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, a Democrat. The House conferees are Representatives Chris Blackshear and Andy Whitt, both Republicans and Democratic Representative Sam Jones.
“I do think people want this to come out,” Gudger said. “I think people want to vote on a lottery and part of that is what is attached to a lottery. Is it sports betting? Is that casinos?”
If the committee reaches a compromise, both chambers will have to approve the bills once again with a three-fifths majority. Alabama voters would then decide the fate of the initiatives via a state-wide referendum to be held either on election day in November, or at an earlier date in September.
After its abrupt cancelation, the conference committee meeting has yet to be rescheduled.
Messages left with Blackshear’s office Wednesday were not returned.
But Blackshear told the Alabama Reflector in a text message that the two chambers are closer to a compromise after “several productive meetings” between members of the conference committee.
The Alabama legislative session is scheduled to adjourn on May 20.
Alabama voters have not had a chance to vote on a gaming expansion measure since they rejected creating a state lottery in a 1999 referendum, with 56 percent opposed to the proposal.
The state did come close to passing a lottery bill during a special session of the legislature in 2016 but a bill approved by the Senate was amended in the House and not passed again by senators.
The Senate also approved a bill to authorize casinos, sports betting, and a state lottery in 2021 but the legislation was unable to pass the House.
