MONTGOMERY — Members of the House Economic Development and Tourism committee voted down a bill legalizing historical horse racing machines in Greene County on Thursday morning.
Only two Democrats on the committee voted for the bill, and all of the Republicans voted against it.
Senate Bill 90, a local bill by Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro), would allow pari-mutuel wagering on historical horse racing computerized machines in Greene County.
Similar legislation passed the Senate in 2023 and 2024 but died in the House. It passed the Senate again this session.
State Rep. Steve Clouse (R-Ozark) said at the committee meeting that “gaming bills” weren’t considered local bills by House rules and therefore wouldn’t receive “local courtesy.”
Lawmakers generally avoid criticizing or voting against local bills that don’t affect their district.
Clouse said the “dominoes were starting to fall” with local gaming bills for Greene County and Lowndes County being passed by the Senate recently.
“We had a bill that Rep. Whitt and Rep. Blackshear worked on tirelessly, worked harder on any bill than I’ve ever seen since I’ve been here 31 years to solve an issue that the state has had for a number of years. We passed it in the House and missed it in the Senate by one vote. It would’ve straightened out y’all’s issues and the other issues with all the other entities around the state,” Clouse said at the meeting. “It needs to be a coordinated effort, a comprehensive effort like Rep. Whitt and Rep. Blackshear put together last year, so all of them can be dealt with at the same time instead of scattershot and one getting in and one not getting in.”
House sponsor State Rep. Curtis Travis (D-Tuscaloosa) said he was “very much supportive of the comprehensive bill” from last year but the local legislation was still needed for Greene County.
“I was there from the beginning, all the way to the end. I was fully supportive of the comprehensive bill,” he added.
Singleton has also repeatedly supported comprehensive bills.
The House passed a comprehensive gambling package in 2024, including a lottery, sports betting, full casinos, and an enforcement and regulatory commission. The Senate never voted on the full package and instead passed an amended version that included a lottery, class II casinos, and a compact with the Poarch Creek Indians.
A compromise between the two bills passed the House, but fell one vote short in the final days of the legislative session.
State Rep. James Lomax (R-Huntsville) called the Greene County bill a “patchwork bill.”
“When there’s 18 different counties that have these constitutional amendments and one of the reasons that I think all of them are coming right now is a political reason. There’s an election next year. I agree there really needs to be some kind of coordination between all these different counties. The Senate is sending us these local bills. I don’t understand why they’re not coordinating. They weren’t able to pass something last year but then they have no problem passing these so-called local bills and sending them down here,” Lomax said.
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