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The sponsor of legislation to allow electronic bingo at the dog tracks in Mobile County and Birmingham couldn’t get the winning numbers in last year’s legislative session. But he’s back for another try this year. And he’s got the support of two budget committee chairmen.
Rep. Marcel Black, D-Tuscumbia, introduced a proposed constitutional amendment on Thursday that would allow electronic bingo games at the dog tracks in Mobile County and Birmingham. The games would be like those operated by the dog tracks in Macon and Greene counties and like those run by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Montgomery, Wetumpka and Atmore.
The sponsor of legislation to allow electronic bingo at the dog tracks in Mobile County and Birmingham couldn’t get the winning numbers in last year’s legislative session. But he’s back for another try this year.
Black’s legislation would tax the games in Birmingham and Mobile County at 20 percent of the gross revenue after paying out winnings. The tax revenue — estimated by proponents at $172 million annually — would be used to finance the state Medicaid program.
After Black introduced his bill Thursday, Sen. Roger Bedford, chairman of the Senate Finance and Taxation-General Fund Committee, and Rep. John Knight, chairman of the House Government Appropriations Committee, held a news conference to support it.
“We are here because we need the money to balance the budget,” Knight, D-Montgomery, said.
Bedford, D-Russellville, said Gov. Bob Riley has proposed a change in the state’s severance tax on oil and natural gas wells to help the state General Fund budget, but it’s uncertain whether the Legislature will pass the tax proposal. If the bill fails, the tax on electronic bingo could fill the hole in the budget, he said.
“It’s time we put all options on the table,” Bedford said.
Alabama’s dog tracks have been trying for years to get additional attractions because dog races don’t draw the crowds they once did. At Victoryland in Macon County, electronic bingo has boosted attendance, prompting operator Milton McGregor to add a parking deck and announce plans for a hotel.
Black tried to pass similar bingo legislation last year, but dropped it when he couldn’t get enough votes in the House to bring it up for debate.
House Speaker Seth Hammett, D-Andalusia, said Thursday he wants Black to provide him with a list of supporters before putting the bill on the House’s work agenda.
“We don’t like to waste the members’ time on matters there is not sufficient support for,” Hammett said.
Hammett also put a time limit on how long Black can have to round up support. He said that if the House is going to consider the bingo legislation, it should be before the House takes up the General Fund budget because the legislation would affect the potential revenue for the budget.
If Black’s bill passes in the House and Senate, it would have to be approved by Alabama voters in the general election Nov. 4 before taking effect.
Black’s bill would not tax the existing bingo games run by the dog tracks in Macon and Greene counties or by the Creek Indians. The bill would crack down on gambling machines operated in small storefront locations in some other areas of the state.
