Tuesday, March 29, 2022 | 1:49 p.m.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A lottery proposal is unlikely to get a vote in the Alabama House of Representatives, the legislative sponsor said Tuesday, as time runs short for the perpetually complex issue.
Republican Rep. Chip Brown said there were “potential problems” in the Alabama Senate for the bill even if it cleared the Alabama House of Representatives. Lawmakers have just six meeting days remaining in the session.
“I would say more than likely, just given the time constraints, that we won’t be moving forward to put it on the floor,” said Brown, a Republican from Hollinger’s Island.
Brown had proposed establishing a state lottery and using proceeds to provide scholarships to help families pay a portion of tuition at two- and four-year colleges.
Brown said he is not giving up on the issue, but said it will probably have to be taken up again in another session.
A separate bill that would create a lottery and allow casinos has been introduced in the Alabama Senate. The proposal has not gotten a vote on the Senate floor.
Alabama is just one of five states — along with Nevada, Utah, Alaska and Hawaii — without a state lottery.
State voters in 1999 rejected a lottery proposed by then-Gov. Don Siegelman. Since then, efforts to create a lottery or allow casinos have died from a fatal mix of conservative opposition to legalized gambling, disagreements on how to use proceeds and turf wars over who could operate lucrative electronic gambling machines.
