Alabama's gambling expansion bill fails to be voted before session ends

Alabama ended its 2021 legislative session without a vote on a gambling expansion bill, and Gov. Kay Ivey has said she will only call a special session on the issue if lawmakers can reach an agreement.

The Legislature adjourned Monday night without a House vote on the Senate-passed lottery, casino and sports betting bill. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon said House leaders opted not to bring the bill up for debate on the busy final legislative day after negotiations fell apart earlier this month, the Associated Press reports.

“I’m quite disappointed,” said Republican Sen. Jim McClendon, who sponsored the bill. He said the Senate worked hard to get a compromise, only to see the bill fall apart in the House. “It was a lot of work, but so much for that this session,” McClendon said.

A spokeswoman for Ivey said the governor has no plans to call a special session and would only consider it if lawmakers reached an agreement. “As she has said, we would need a plan and an agreement on that plan for her to consider that,” Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola said.

The Senate bill would have allowed nine casinos, including sites owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, but other sites, that currently have electronic bingo games, had lobbied to be included, saying shutting their facilities down would cost jobs in poor counties. “You can't just talk about a lottery without all of these other people getting into the discussion,” McCutcheon said.

Democrats had sought language in the legislation that gambling revenue would be used for Medicaid expansion. “That has been our priority for the last 10 years,” House Minority Leather Anthony Daniels said.

Senate Majority Leader Clay Scofield said he believed Senate Republicans would oppose such language because of cost.

McCutcheon said he did not know if there would be a special session on gambling. “It depends on whether we can get all the differences worked out,” he said. Alabama lawmakers will return to Montgomery for at least one special session in order to draw new congressional and legislative districts.

Alabamians last voted on the issue of gambling in 1999 when voters rejected then-Gov. Don Siegelman’s proposed lottery to fund education. Over the next two decades lawmakers made multiple attempts to pass a gambling bill but the efforts have failed.