The Poarch Band of Creek Indians’ “billion dollar plan” for Alabama, advertised on television and the internet, is now proposed in the form of legislation that would authorize a lottery and casinos.
Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, whose southwest Alabama district includes the tribe’s headquarters, introduced the bill on Thursday. It’s a proposed constitutional amendment and would need voter approval if it passes the Legislature.
The bill would require the governor to enter a compact with the Poarch Creeks giving the tribe exclusive rights to full-fledged casino gambling at its three resorts on tribal lands and at two new locations -- one in Jefferson County and one in northeast Alabama. The new casinos would pay state license fees and a 25% tax on net gambling revenue.
The legislation would create a seven-member Alabama Gaming Commission to license and regulate the new casinos. The commission would also license and regulate dog tracks and bingo operations in counties that authorized those games under local constitutional amendments.
The lottery would include instant tickets and multi-state games like Mega Millions and Powerball. The net lottery revenue would go to education.
Albritton’s bill does not have a fiscal note from the Legislative Services Agency, which would be the official estimate of how much revenue it would raise. But there would be an initial windfall for the state followed by what Albritton said would be hundreds of millions in annual revenue.
The Poarch Creeks would pay $250 million for a state license for each of its two new casinos. The licenses would be good for 25 years. The two new casinos would pay a 25% tax on net gaming revenue. The local bingo and dog track operations would also pay a new 25% state tax.
The legislation arrives after Ivey called for a pause on lottery and gambling proposals, which generate controversy in the Legislature every year. The four states that border Alabama have lotteries, but lottery legislation in Alabama has stalled repeatedly because of competing interests and opposition to gambling.
Ivey appointed a Study Group on Gambling Policy to gather facts and figures about the potential benefits and costs of various forms of gambling expansion in Alabama. Ivey said legislators and voters need more clarity on issues like a lottery and other forms of gambling. The Study Group held its first meeting Thursday and plans to issue a report by the end of the year.
Albritton said his bill can become part of what the study group considers.
“I’m not trying to step on anybody on this,” Albritton said. “But that commission has got to have a basis to determine what the values may or may not be. And this is one of the processes and hopefully one of the things that they may be able to get a consideration as to what the funds and what the revenue could be.”
Albritton said the state gets no benefit from the current patchwork of gambling legislation and operations. He said his bill, if approved by voters, would change that. As for the benefits the Poarch Creeks would receive from exclusive gambling rights, Albritton said that benefits his district, as well.
“They are the economic engine of this area,” Albritton said. “We don’t have Mercedes. We don’t even have Airbus. This drives a great deal of the economy for a large area. And not just here, but also for Montgomery and other places.”
The Poarch Creeks have casinos in Atmore, Montgomery, and Wetumpka that offer electronic bingo. They are regulated on a federal level and don’t pay state taxes on the gambling revenue. But to offer slot machines and table games like blackjack and craps, the tribe would have to enter a compact with the state.
Albritton’s bill has been assigned to the Senate Tourism Committee, which is chaired by Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh. Albritton said he’s gotten no promises about when the bill might be considered and that he expects it to be much discussed, "probably even maligned."
“I don’t believe this is on a fast track at all," Albritton said.
"But at least it will begin the conversation again and put values out there and monies out there that can actually be done.”
Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, has planned to introduce a lottery bill in the House of Representatives but said he would hold off for a few weeks after Ivey announced the study group. Clouse said he thinks the lottery issue has already been thoroughly studied. Forty-five states have lotteries.
Marsh and House Speaker Mac McCutcheon have said repeatedly that the approach to gambling legislation needs to be comprehensive, taking into account a lottery, the Poarch Creeks operations, and the local gambling establishments.
On Thursday, McCutcheon said he sees a benefit in waiting on the findings of the Ivey study group.
“They’re going to gather facts,” McCutcheon said. “They’re going to gather information, help us understand what it would mean for the governor to even do a compact and what kind of legal issues are we facing. So, all of these are things that we as a legislative body need to make sure that we understand."
Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, said today he had not seen Albritton’s bill but did not expect it to advance any time soon. Singleton has sought to protect the local gambling operations, like Greenetrack in his district, in previous lottery proposals.
https://www.al.com/news/2020/03/senator-proposes-lottery-exclusive-rights-for-poarch-creeks.html