BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — At Children’s Hospital on Wednesday, Governor Robert Bentley (R-Ala.) put forth a bleak choice for Alabamians on how they can deal with the state’s budgetary issues. “Which is the most immoral: Buying five lottery tickets with money you earned or allowing a child to die?” He asked. “I don’t think there’s even a choice there, so we must fund Medicaid, we must take care of our sick children, our disabled people, those in nursing homes, those with mental illness.”
Bentley went on to say that it is the government’s moral obligation to fund such health programs.
“Because you know what? They [the sick children] didn’t choose any of that,” he said. “Nobody did, and that’s one of the big functions of government is to take care of those that can’t take care of themselves.”
Last week, the governor released his proposed Constitutional Amendment (CA) that would institute a state-sponsored lottery, with the revenue flowing into the General Fund, rather than the Education Budget, to fund Medicaid, prisons and other agencies.
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Constitutional Amendments require a vote of the people, so for it to appear on the General Election ballot in November, the legislature would have to pass a bill authorizing the CA vote by August 24th.
But Bentley’s proposal is not the only one currently on the table. This week, Sen. Jim McClendon (R-Springville) announced that he plans to introduce a second lottery bill in the legislature to compete against Governor Bentley’s plan.
McClendon’s proposal differs from Bentley’s in that it would allow for the creation of electronic lottery terminals at dog tracks in Birmingham, Mobile, Macon County and Greene County. The bill also authorizes the governor to negotiate compacts with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
RELATED: Alabama senator one-ups Bentley with bill that also allows ‘lottery machines’ at dog tracks
The senator estimates that his plan will bring in would bring in $427 million annually, which is more than the $225 estimated for the governor’s plan.
While speaking to doctors at Monroe County Hospital earlier this year, Gov. Bentley said he believes 70 percent of Alabamians would support a lottery proposal that is directly tied to funding Medicaid, a major source of revenue for rural hospitals. Recent polling, however, shows Alabama Republicans split on the lottery, while remaining overwhelmingly opposed to a further expansion of casino gambling.
Alabama is one of only six states that does not have a lottery, but a gambling expansion of any kind could face fierce opposition from the state’s large swath of evangelical voters.
In 1999, Alabamians voted down Gov. Don Siegelman’s proposed education lottery 54% to 46%. Since then, numerous statewide candidates — most of them Democrats — have run on a platform of letting the people vote again.
During the upcoming special session, which begins Monday, the legislature will have the opportunity to consider both options.
RELATED: Bentley’s lottery panic is a sham. Here’s how Alabama can pay its bills without it.
