It has been a week since the Alabama House of Representatives passed a constitutional amendment and the so-called enabling legislation that would establish legalized gambling in the state of Alabama.
While both pieces of legislation passed with significant margins in the House, State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) said there is no path forward for that legislation in the Alabama Senate.
During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," Elliott described the possibility of the Senate taking up the House legislation as is as "that ship has sailed."
"[Y]ou correctly perceive that if [the Senate] were going to pass what the House had passed, we would have done it by now," Elliott said. "So, I would say that ship has sailed. There simply aren't the votes in the Senate to pass what the House has passed. And again, going back to what I said earlier about the Senate — it is the deliberative body. Members needed time to read and digest what the House had passed. It is important to note what really has only been a week since the engrossed version of that was available. And so, members have had a chance to look at that, have had a chance to read through that 150 pages of enabling, to say nothing of the constitutional amendment, which is a separate bill."
"I saw a lot of people walking around this week with the bill tabbed, sticky notes, highlighted, you know, where they had questions, where they had problems," he continued. "And again, I think Senate leadership has done their job as well, which is correctly perceive, 'Hey, the votes are not there to pass this as is. Let's sit down with our members and see what can we get passed.' Look, the voters are clear. The polling is clear. EIght-some-odd percent of people in the state of Alabama want to vote on a lottery. So, to the extent that is something we can get done, then I think we will be able to do that. What else is or is not in the bill is probably up for grabs at this point. But I think it's reasonable to assume that what passed the House will get pared down to the point where we get something that can pass the Senate. But it will be a marked change from what passed the House."
Jeff Poor is the editor in chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
