It’s the Greene County gaming constitutional amendment, masquerading as a local constitutional amendment. It is not local and would have a far-reaching impact across the state. I had to step into a central role. Sometimes the squeeze of reality makes us do what we don’t want to do.
I did not want to be involved in the fight over the Greene County bill. I work with the sponsor, Senator Bobby Singleton, on various matters. I really like him. Also, we are both members of the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Alabama Legislative Black Caucus. We had an encounter over a Greene County local bill eight years ago, and it took a long time for our relationship to heal. I knew the bill was dangerous, but I hoped someone else would stop it. Sometimes the squeeze of reality makes us do what we don’t want to do.
The bill has several impactful provisions that would allow Greenetrack, a private entity, to have a lifetime gaming license with an obvious monopoly in Greene County. It moves from the charity bingo concept to a private corporation bingo concept. It would put three other charity operations out of the bingo business. And all of this would be in the Alabama Constitution. That’s bad enough, but that’s not what moved me.
The bill also contains provisions that would allow Greenetrack to contract with other entities as long as Greenetrack owns or leases the premises. This provision is not limited to Greene County. This proposed constitutional amendment, masquerading as a local bill, would allow gaming all over the state controlled by one private entity. This would adversely impact bingo in Lowndes County, which is in the Senate district I represent. Sometimes the squeeze of reality makes us do what we don’t want to do.
The bill came up for consideration. Senator Bobby Singleton was at one podium. Senator Greg Albritton of Bay Minette was at the other podium. I relaxed, saying to myself, “The extended debate (filibuster) is on.” After a few minutes of dialogue, Senator Albritton announced that he would not filibuster the bill and, “others want to talk.” He looked at me. The circumstances had changed drastically. Sometimes the squeeze of reality makes us do what we don’t want to do.
Meanwhile, I had introduced a local bill to protect bingo in Lowndes County. It was assigned to the wrong committee. I then introduced a second bill. It was assigned to the wrong committee again. I went to the podium for a point of personal privilege. I explained to the presiding officer and members of the Senate what had happened with the first two bills. I introduced a third bill, and it was assigned to the wrong committee. Clearly something was up within the context of these realities. Sometimes the squeeze of reality makes us do what we don’t want to do.
I went to the podium in the well of the Senate. Senator Singleton had offered an amendment that he said would make certain that gaming was limited to Greene County. However, the amendment did not limit the bill to Greene County. We were still dealing with a bill that would impact the entire state. I commenced extended debate. Sometimes the squeeze of reality makes us do what we don’t want to do.
I started to speak. I was going strong. It was not long before a petition to close debate was filed. The presiding officer called on Senator Singleton so I could not speak during the 20 minutes between the filing of the petition and the vote. I did not think they would get the 21 votes required to cut off debate because we Democrats do not vote cloture. But this was about gambling, and most Democrats joined some Republicans to vote cloture. Still, as I counted, it looked like they would be one vote short.
Then another Democrat walked toward the desk and pointed to his eye, meaning a yes vote. They got exactly 21 votes. We had lost the first round. The vote on the pending amendment that did not do anything was called. It got 22 votes. They won the second round. I said to myself, “Hank, you did your best.” I recognized how much power is behind gambling in just one county. When we are dealing with gambling statewide, the power is massive. Sometimes the squeeze of reality makes us do what we don’t want to do.
As we were voting on final passage of the bill, I tried to count the votes as they were called out, but my effort was half-hearted. I lost count. Then the desk announced the results, 17 ayes and six nays with one abstention. The bill needed 21 votes because it was a constitutional amendment, so it failed. It was a victory for the people. However, I know that the victory is just temporary. Gambling is powerful, and with so much money at stake, the proponents will not let up. I expect that there will be efforts to revive the bill. We just have to do our best. Sometimes the squeeze of reality makes us do what we don’t want to do.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not against gambling. I am against back door bills that would lead to statewide gambling. If casinos were legalized in Alabama, they could produce as much as a billion dollars from licensing fees on the front end and hundreds of millions every year. We could properly fund Medicaid, expand Medicaid, and increase funding for education. We could do so much for so many. Sometimes the squeeze of reality makes us do what we should not do.
EPILOGUE - Power is a reality of life. Money is just one form of power. Position is another. Status is another. Authority to make decisions is another. However, all power does not lie with the powerful and positioned. Determination is power. Creativity is power. Prayer is power.
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