A day-long push to get a comprehensive lottery and gambling push through the Alabama House of Representatives collapsed late Thursday, after an attempt to cut the bill down to a simple lottery by a group of Republicans failed. We ve been working on that bill, and there was a division in the membership on this, and there was not enough votes to pass it, House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, said late Thursday. We were looking at any other options on that, including a lottery bill.
The developments led to angry accusations from Democrats, who said Republicans locked them out of meetings and abruptly introduced the lottery bill late in the day on Thursday, and Republicans who said they worked in good faith to try to get something out for voters to approve.
By KIM CHANDLER
Associated Press
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) â The fate of an Alabama lottery and casino bill remained in limbo on Thursday as the House of Representatives delayed a vote amid a flurry of last-minute negotiations to try to obtain the needed support.
House leaders of both parties met multiple times through the day for negotiations on the bill trying to work out a compromise that could muster the 63 votes needed to pass the 105-member House. The chamber moved on to other bills Thursday night as the discussions continued.
âThere s been a lot of work on it. Right now, we are looking at the differences in the House and the Senate, the majority caucus and the minority caucus. They are sitting in there now at the table working through it,â House Speaker Mac McCutcheon said Thursday evening.
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Gambling bill stalls in Alabama House as tempers flare
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KIM CHANDLER, Associated Press
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Rep. Chris Blackshear talks with the media about gambling legislation outside of the House chamber at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Ala., Thursday, May 6, 2021. (Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)Mickey Welsh/AP
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) Lottery and casino legislation stalled in the Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday night after negotiations failed to muster enough support, leaving the outlook for the gambling bill doubtful with just a day remaining in the session.
The demise of the legislation led to finger-pointing over who was responsible and an unsuccessful effort by Republicans to switch the bill for a GOP-backed lottery proposal. Republicans accused Democrats of making last-minute demands on the bill. Democrats criticized what they described as a bad-faith push by Republicans to change out the bill.
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