The Alabama Democratic Party is lamenting the fact that the legislature was unable to pass some kind of lottery and gaming bill in the 2024 legislative session.
The Alabama House Democratic Caucus released a statement Friday about the failure to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot to approve a lottery and legalize gambling.
AHDC Statement on the Lottery and Gaming. #YourFreedomYourFuture #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/x1PSB6ZEp1
— AL House Democrats (@ALHouseDems) May 10, 2024
“We are deeply disappointed that the people of Alabama will, once again, be denied the right to vote on this important issue,” the statement read. “From the beginning, House Democrats have honored the clear mandate given by the people of Alabama, fighting for a true education lottery wholly devoted to education, and securing funding for healthcare throughout Alabama.”
The caucus also argued that the state is losing a great amount of revenue to other states that have a lottery.
“Inevitably, people will continue to spend money on the lottery and other types of gaming in adjoining states and, sadly Alabama will miss out on the sorely needed revenue,” the statement continued. “We expect that this issue will be considered in the future, and we expect the clear mandate of Alabama voters to be reflected in any good-faith gaming legislation.”
Gaming was a contentious issue throughout the session as the House and Senate passed very different bills on the matter. A conference committee was formed, but their agreement also failed to pass the Senate by a 20-15 vote. It needed 21 votes to pass due to constitutional amendments requiring a 60% threshold in each chamber.
Gov. Kay Ivey also struck down the idea of calling a special session on the issue.
“Why would I do that?” Ivey said. “They can’t some to any consensus amongst themselves currently, so why would I spend the time, and effort, and money on a special session? So I’m disappointed that the gambling bill is not going to get the will of the people.”
From earlier, this is @GovernorKayIvey saying,"Why would I do that?" when asked about a potential special session on gambling. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/swDRpJ9mQr
— Todd Stacy (@toddcstacy) May 9, 2024
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
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