The Alabama legislature will consider a new lottery bill that would use revenue for education, split between the state's pre-kindergarten
program and college scholarships.Get more news about
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Republican Rep. Steve Clouse of Ozark will introduce the proposal to authorize a state lottery when the new legislative session begins next
week.
The proposal needs to clear several hurdles before a lottery is implemented. The bill must pass the House and Senate with at least a
three-fifths majority. Next, it would go on the ballot to be voted on by
citizens. In order for a lottery to be created, voters would need to
change state laws to allow Class III gaming.Alabamians last voted on
whether to create a lottery in 1999, when then-Governor Don Siegelman
was in favor of using lottery proceeds to fund education. However,
voters rejected the measure and no new proposal has been put on the
ballot since then.
Alabama is one of just five states in the country, and the only one in the Deep South, without a lottery. Last November, neighboring
Mississippi started its own lottery with scratch-off games, and is
rolling out multi-state games Powerball and Mega Millions on Thursday,
January 30. Alabama's other neighbors, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee,
also have lotteries.
"We're surrounded, and it's to the point now where it's ridiculous that we don't have a chance to let our constituents vote on this issue,"
Clouse said.
Public opinion may have changed, at least judging by a Twitter poll conducted by Alabama TV station WVTM13 asking, "YES or NO to a lottery
in Alabama?" 94.6% of respondents voted Yes, with just 5.4% voting
No.Many Alabama residents cross state lines to buy lottery tickets,
leading proponents of a lottery to claim the money should be going to
Alabama instead. Mississippi, for example, raised $2.5 million in its
first day selling scratch-off tickets.
The Legislative Service Agency estimated last year that a paper lottery would generate $166.7 million per year, while Clouse believes it
could be much more.
A lottery bill is introduced during almost every session of the Alabama legislature. In 2019, a bill squeaked through the Senate with no
votes to spare, but failed in the House. Under that proposal, most of
the lottery revenue would have gone to Alabama's General Fund, with a
smaller share going to education.
Past bills failed due to long-standing opposition to gambling and disagreements over electronic gaming. Competing factions "make it easier
to kill something than to pass something," said Sen. Greg Albritton,
who sponsored last year's lottery bill. He said that a new lottery bill
should try to get through the House first this time. "That's where the
last two we've sent have died," he said.
