MONTGOMERY — Sen. Del Marsh (R-Anniston) on Thursday delivered an update on SB 214, his comprehensive gaming proposal pending consideration by the Alabama Senate.
For the past three weeks, Marsh has been working with colleagues on fine-tuning the bill to turn it into the best possible proposal for the people of Alabama to ultimately consider in a referendum. He has also been working on the enabling legislation related to the proposal in recent weeks.
Discussions will be ongoing through the weekend, Marsh said, however he still hopes to have the bill debated and passed on the Senate floor this coming Tuesday.
One new development related to that process he underscored to reporters on Thursday afternoon was an emphasis on House members getting engaged and having ownership of the proposal. Marsh wants the bill to be viewed not as a “Senate bill” that is simply sent over to the House, but a bill that is the result of true collaboration between the chambers.
“I’ve met with about half a dozen House members (today); I’ve got a meeting at 3:00 today with the governor. And what I’m trying to do is incorporate into the legislation, on the [substitute] that I want to come out with on Tuesday, I would like input from those House members so that they will claim some authorship in it, as well,” he said. “This needs to be, at this point … this needs to move from a Senate piece of legislation to a legislative piece of legislation. And that’s my attempt.”
The specifics of what that substitute will look like are still a moving target, Marsh explained, yet the core aspects of the bill are expected to mostly remain the same.
“I think at the end of the day we will truly have a document that finally has controls on gaming in the state of Alabama, will have a strong commission to oversee that, and works through the puzzle of making sure those revenues go to where the people of the state would like to see them,” Marsh remarked.
He also commented on Wednesday’s unanimous Senate passage of SB 215, his transformational piece of legislation aimed at increasing the availability of high-speed broadband internet service to every area of the Yellowhammer State.
Of course, SB 214 would deliver the necessary revenue stream to really move the ball to this end, so supporters of broadband in the Senate now are faced with putting money where their mouths are.
House Majority Whip Danny Garrett (R-Trussville) will carry SB 215 in the House, Marsh said. He added that he has yet to finalize which member of the lower chamber will carry SB 214, should it pass the Senate. That detail is another thing he wants confirmed before Tuesday.
“For the first time, if we’re successful with (SBs) 214 and 215, it’ll be the first time a steady funding source is in place to make it happen,” Marsh said of expanding reliable, affordable internet service to every Alabamian. “I think the people of the state are excited about the opportunity for broadband. And I think it’s going to be a statement beyond the state of Alabama.”
Marsh emphasized that his proposal could vault Alabama from 47th in the nation in broadband access to the top 10.
He reiterated that he already has the needed 21 votes in the Senate to pass the bill, regardless of some of the ultimate results of fine-tuning the substitute version. The deliberative nature that he has undertaken has been aimed at the bill passing both chambers, he noted.
Marsh added that his meeting Thursday afternoon with the governor would include House leadership; he explained he wants to get to a place where House members feel comfortable joining him in publicly speaking about the proposal, including aspects they wanted to see improved therein.
“I have the votes (in the Senate). I have the votes, whether it’s a five (casino) plan or a seven (casino) plan,” Marsh said. “It’s been tough to hold (the bill) back. But what’s more important to me at this point — it’s not that I have the votes in the Senate. I want to know that the House is engaged and has ownership in this as much as the Senate does. And I think it’s time for that to happen. These last few weeks have been as much about getting the House comfortable and involved as it has my own members.”
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
