GAMBLING
Gambling took center stage again this week as Rep. Chip Brown introduced HB501 (a constitutional amendment to allow Alabama voters to decide on legalizing a state-sponsored “lottery only,” with no casinos) and HB502 (“enabling legislation” that details how the lottery would be implemented). These bills are competing with Sen. Greg Albritton’s gambling bills (SB293 and SB294) that were introduced in the Senate a couple of weeks ago. Albritton’s bills call for a state-sponsored lottery, 8 full-fledged casinos, 2 satellite casinos (a total of 10 casinos), and sports betting online and at the casinos. ALCAP thought that SB293 and SB294 would be on the Senate’s Special Order Calendar this week, but they were not. Albritton was apparently not happy and spent a little time filibustering the Senate in protest.
HB501 and HB502 were passed out of the House Tourism Committee in a special called meeting of that committee early Thursday morning, indicating that the House leadership is “fast-tracking” these bills. The legislature will be on Spring Break next week, but we anticipate that these two gambling bills will be on the House Special Order Calendar when they return on Tuesday, March 29. ALCAP’s Greg Davis and Joe Godfrey spoke against these bills during a public hearing and were interviewed by various media outlets afterward. [See below for links to some of the articles and video interviews.]
ACTION TO TAKE: Contact your House Member and ask him/her to vote NO on HB501. Ask them to vote NO on both the Budget Isolation Resolution (“BIR,” which is a procedural vote) and on final passage of the bill. HB501, because it is a constitutional amendment, must receive a yes vote from 3/5 of the body (that would be 63 votes in the House).
Contact your State Senator and ask him/her to vote NO on SB293. Ask them to vote NO on both the BIR and on final passage if this bill comes to the Senate floor for debate. SB293 will require that 3/5 of the Senate vote yes since it is a constitutional amendment (that would be 21 votes in the Senate).
In order to contact your legislators, click on the link above to navigate to the ALCAP website. At the ALCAP website click on the “find my legislator” button and enter your full street address. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find your Alabama State Legislator.
VULNERABLE CHILD COMPASSION AND PROTECTION ACT (VCAP)
The VCAP bills continue to be held up in the House. These companion bills (HB150, sponsored by Rep. Wes Allen and SB184, sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt) protect children under the age of 19 from parents who want them to receive hormone blockers and/or have surgical procedures performed for the purpose of changing their sexual appearance. There are exceptions included in the bills for legitimate uses of hormone blockers. SB184 passed out of the Senate earlier this session, and it (and HB150) passed out of the House Judiciary Committee a couple of weeks ago. However, like last year, the House leadership is keeping these bills from coming to the floor of the House for debate and a vote.
ACTION TO TAKE: Contact your Alabama House Member and ask him/her to vote YES on HB150 or SB184 whenever these bills come to the floor. Contact Rep. Mac McCutcheon, Speaker of the House, and ask him to let one or both of these bills be placed on the Special Order Calendar as soon as possible. There are only 7 legislative days left in the 2022 Regular Session, so time is running out for them to protect these children!
PRESIDENT AND CEO JOE GODFREY ON CBS42 NEWS
Following the public hearing on the Lottery bill in the House Tourism Committee, ALCAP President and CEO, Joe Godfrey, was interviewed by CBS42 News to provide ALCAP’s position on the bill. Click on the image below to watch the video.
Joe Godfrey: Ten reasons to oppose a state lottery
Why does ALCAP oppose and why should Christians be opposed to the lottery? There are a number of reasons, but here are the “Top Ten Reasons To Oppose A State-Sponsored Lottery”…
‘Lottery-only’ bills filed in Alabama House with only a few days left in 2022 session
As the clock ticks on the 2022 Alabama legislative session, Alabama Citizens Action Program is monitoring several late-filed gambling bills now under consideration with only seven legislative days remaining.