MONTGOMERY — House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) was visibly peeved at the surprise drop of lottery and gambling legislation in the Senate on Thursday, saying he was left entirely out of the loop.
Ledbetter and other House members have fretted for the better part of a year after last year's feud between the bodies over a comprehensive gambling package.
Gambling soured the 2024 legislative session. House members swiftly passed the comprehensive gambling package before sending it to the Senate. Senate members heavily amended the bill before sending it back to the House.
The House, unwilling to accept the Senate's changes, convened a conference committee—a meeting between members of both houses to hammer out a compromise.
The conference committee produced a compromise that seemed ready for final passage. However, after the House voted "yes," the Senate again failed to garner sufficient votes before the session closed.
On Thursday, State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Range), the leading Senate driver for the gambling bill in 2024, dropped a new comprehensive gambling package. Lawmakers stated the bill had been filed in the Senate. However, it is not available online. Albritton's proposal reportedly included sports betting, a lottery, six Class II casinos and a compact with the Poarch Creek Indians.
Senate President Pro-Tem Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) swiftly ended consideration of the bill in a statement on Thursday, saying it was "too little, too late."
Before Gudger's comments, Ledbetter responded to the news of the gambling bill with evident frustration, stating he had not been informed of the bill's filing after being asked by a reporter.
"Well, you're telling me something I didn't know," Ledbetter responded. "I didn't know there was a bill. The thing about it is, if we don't have that kind of communication, the chances of it getting through the House are zero."
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