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Alabama House Committee Has Four Days To Pass Stalled Bingo Bill

Posted on April 10th, 2010

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The House Tourism and Travel Committee which was geared up Thursday to vote on a bill that would regulate and tax electronic bingo in Alabama has agreed to postpone deliberation after the bill’s sponsor in the House, Rep. Marcel Black, D-Tuscumbia requested the committee to put the voting on hold until next week.

Black said his meetings with some representatives concerning some likely adjustments in the bill won’t be finished until the weekend. He said the talks are vital to the bill’s passage as he expects more support for the bill will be gained from the meetings.

Opponents of electronic bingo were pleased to learn of the latest development seeing it as an indication that the bill’s proponents in the House are desperate for votes to pass the bill especially since the 2010 session has only four days before it closes. “The truth is they don’t have the votes to pass this corrupt bill,” said Bryan Taylor, policy director for Gov. Bob Riley.

The bill was approved in the Senate March 30, after which the Senate leaders were informed by the FBI that investigations were underway to find out whether any legislative support was influenced by any outside pressure. Black said although the FBI had not communicated with him, he won’t let any investigation deter his aim to pass the bill considering that the House’s days are numbered.

The Senate-passed electronic bingo bill has no limit on the number of bingo casinos, and entrusted that decision to a committee that would be created to oversee the state’s gaming. Black said some House members, himself included, want to put in a limit to the bill. He said his talks with colleagues include the matter of the gaming commission’s formation and authority. If passed in the House, the bill, which is a constitutional amendment, would be presented to Alabama voters Nov. 2, leaving it to the citizens to decide on the legality of electronic bingo, thus finally bringing legal fights to a close.

Some bingo halls have shut down for fear of being raided by the governor’s task force on illegal gambling, although some continued to operate while the bill is being debated in the Legislature. Black and Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, the bill’s sponsor in the Senate said they are aware of the desire of a number of lawmakers to see a resolution to the seemingly endless political and legal skirmish over the issue of electronic bingo that has gripped the state for months, and they have high hopes that there will be enough votes to pass bill.

But a strong critic of gambling, the Rev. Dan Ireland, said the bill won’t pass the House because the referendum would be on the general election ballot along with the 140 legislative seats. “I don’t think a lot of people are eager to have their names and gambling legislation on the same ballot,” he said. Besides, the legislative session has only a few days left. “Every day you burn you have one day’s less opportunity to pass your bill,” he said.