Two years ago, the lottery almost made it through the legislative process before it died in the Senate. But now the lottery is getting new attention after the Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives told the press that a lottery would be on the legislature’s agenda next year.
There’s no question that the lottery could do a lot of good for our state. The most recent estimates are that a lottery could bring in $332 million a year, and that kind of money could solve a lot of problems.
One of those problems is our state’s infrastructure. Our roads and bridges are in terrible shape, and far too much of rural Alabama is still without quality Internet access or even decent cell phone reception.
Imagine how much progress we could make on projects like I-759, Highway 411, the Southside Bridge and Highway 77 in Attalla if we had a lottery.
A lottery could also pay for scholarships to two-year and four-year universities to help kids – and even those who are already in the workforce but wanting to go back to school – earn their college degree.
In addition to scholarships, a lottery could provide funding for technology, improved security, and giving educators and education retirees the pay raise they deserve.
Legislators will have to work out the details of any lottery proposal, and the funds need to be earmarked so that the voters can be confident that the lottery won’t become a slush fund for politicians and pork spending projects.
But in order to get that acceptable lottery bill through the legislature and in front of the voters, we have to have lawmakers who will support it.
In 2016, the lottery barely made it through the Alabama House of Representatives, and it ultimately died in the Senate because lawmakers couldn’t agree on the details.
And passing a lottery bill is hard enough as it is because there are a handful of anti-lottery lawmakers who use every tool at their disposal to kill the lottery even though public opinion – even in their own districts – supports the lottery.
That is why it is so important that we elect lawmakers who support the lottery and are committed to working together to put an acceptable lottery proposal in front of the voters.
The good news is that the lottery is not a partisan issue; it is just as popular among Republicans as it is among Democrats. And more and more legislators are now starting to voice their support for at least letting the people vote on the lottery.
But even with the growing support for the lottery, there are still several legislators and political candidates who are against it.
In 2016, the lottery passed the Alabama House of Representatives by only two votes. And while there are 105 members of the House, there are only 35 state senators, making a senator’s vote three times as powerful as a House member’s vote.
When you go to vote this November, make sure you know where the candidates stand on the lottery. The lottery will be back in the legislature next year, but whether or not you ever get to vote on it could be decided by who you vote for in November.
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