Statement by Sen. Harri Anne Smith

April 14, 2008

Lance Griffin

Below is the full text of the statement read by Sen. Harri Anne Smith when she announced that she had withdrawn her bingo bill from the Alabama Senate.

“I recenrtly introduced a bill in the state Senate which would have put the establishment of electronic bingo in Houston County on the ballot in November. I did this because I believe that when the citizens of any community face a political and moral issue of great significance they should have the opportunity to participate in that decision.”

“I believe that then and I believe it now. Since I introduced this bill I have heard from hundreds of people from all walks of life – in the newspaper, on the Internet, by phone, on radio and TV, and on the street.”

“The good, solid citizens of our community have let me know in no uncertain terms how strongly they feel about this issue. The consensus is obvious to me. A majority of the people of Houston County clearly want the Country Crossing development to move forward because of what they believe it will mean to this area in terms of jobs and economic development.  For that reason I have today contacted the Senate committee chairman and asked that my bill be stopped permanantly.”

Statement by Rep. Benjamin Lewis

Lance Griffin

Below is the full statement sent to the Dothan Eagle by Rep. Benjamin Lewis after he said he would not attempt to move his bingo bill out of the local legislation committee in the House:

STATEMENT ON BINGO LEGISLATION
“It is apparent that there will not be any further effort at this time by the Alabama state legislature to amend Houston County’s local charitable Bingo amendment.”

“While I support the Country Crossing development which will bring thousands of jobs to our community, I still have reservations about the gambling aspect of the project. I believe this will open the door for casinos to be built in Houston County. I have carefully studied Constitutional Amendment No. 569 and the enabling legislation (Act No. 95-420) which allows charitable Bingo in our county. I read the regulations passed by the Houston County Commission and studied the legal opinions the commission based their decision upon. I sought independent legal advice on this issue from attorneys who represent interests on both sides of this issue. I sought direction from Governor Bob Riley’s office and Attorney General Troy King’s office. I even sought counsel from some of the legislators who sponsored the original legislation in an effort to determine the original intent. It is my belief that there are some problems with the law and some of the provisions are ambiguous. It is partly because of these potential problems with the original law that I introduced a bill in the House to correct the ambiguous language and allow it to conform to what I believe was the original intent of Amendment 569.”

“Also, in the face of the long standing public policy of this State against gambling as outlined by Article IV, Section 65 of the 1901 Constitution of Alabama, the history of Alabama’s voters repeatedly voting down attempts to establish a state-wide lottery or approve a state-wide gambling amendment to the Constitution, and a number of state court decisions holding similar electronic machines as illegal gambling devices, I believe a clarification in the law was needed. I received numerous correspondences from the public with concerns about the proposed Country Crossing development including a Bingo Casino being built here in our community. 

“One of the things that make the Wiregrass so special is the community spirit that is found here. I stand by my decision to introduce HB 819; however, due to recent events the legislation is effectively dead. It is my belief that political decisions that have the potential to change the direction of a community deserve the input of the community.”

Sen. Smith will make statement on bingo bill

Lance Griffin

Sen. Harri Anne Smith, R-Slocomb, has informed the media she will be making a statement at 1:30 p.m. today (Monday) at her headquarters concerning SB572, the bill she sponsored in the Alabama Legislature that would put the charitable bingo issue on the November ballot. She gave no indication as to what her statement will be.

Rally planned to support Country Crossing

April 09, 2008

Lance Griffin

A rally to support Country Crossing has been scheduled for next Saturday. Pasted below is a press release with details.

Press Release

Let the Stars Fall on Houston County!

Grassroots community action group makes their voices heard. 

On Saturday, April 19th 1 - 5pm at the Dothan Convention Center, an ambitious group of Wiregrass residents will show the region their support for the proposed Country Crossing project.  The Dothan Convention Center is located at 4106 Ross Clark Circle across from Twitchell.

One of the organizers, Debbie Trueblood of Dothan, said that she’s “amazed by the incredible amount of energy, enthusiasm and talent being brought to this effort by volunteers.  They’re offering to direct traffic, type, call legislators, mail letters, hand out flyers and speak at this rally.  It’s just an inspiring amount of community involvement”.

Expected speakers include local business owners, private citizens, the project’s developer, Ronnie Gilley, and other interested parties.  A complete slide presentation of the development, including all the features planned will be presented.

David Asbill Sr., another group organizer from the Wiregrass, said he is “really pleased with the amount of input that’s been shared in an open, friendly atmosphere.  This is truly the PEOPLE speaking”.

Another organizer and local business owner Tim Hawkins said “I think it’s the best thing that could ever happen to this area, and I can’t wait for it to get here”.

For further information, or to volunteer, go to http://www.supportcountrycrossing.org or call David Asbill Sr. at 685.6201 or Debbie Trueblood at 618.1610

Bingo Bill: What’s Next?

April 08, 2008

Lance Griffin

Now that the Houston County bingo bill sponsored by Sen. Harri Anne Smith, R-Slocomb, has been signed out of the Local Legislation Committee and referred to the Tourism and Marketing Committee, what can Houston County residents expect next?

Typically, committees shy away from supporting local bills that do not have unanimous support from the local delegation and the county commission. However, anything is possible in the Alabama Legislature and some scenarios exist that could push this bill out of committee and onto the Senate floor.

(1) The chairman of the Tourism and Marketing Committee is Sen. Bobby Singleton, who represents Greene County in west central Alabama where Greenetrack has electronic bingo. Singleton has been attempting to push a bingo bill onto the Senate floor that would transfer electronic bingo authority from the Sheriff of Greene County to a racing commission, and would also provide more money for local governments through electronic bingo revenue. Singleton has been having trouble getting his bill heard, and could be inclined to help push the Houston County bill forward if he could, in turn, get his bill heard. The Senate debated an almost identical bill Thursday afternoon from Sen. Myron Penn, who represents Shorter where Victoryland hosts electronic bingo. The Senate, however, appears to be at an impasse on the issue, so the scenario is possible, but not likely.

(2) The Governor has expressed opposition to any measure that expands gambling in Alabama, and could call in favors to keep another electronic bingo center from locating in Alabama.

While those scenarios exist, it is not believed the 3/5 vote needed to pass the bill will happen, even if the bill makes it to the Senate floor

The Tourism and Marketing Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., but is not currently scheduled to debate the Houston County bill. It could, however, be placed on the calendar any time between now and then. There are 12 days left in the current legislative session and much of the remaining time will be spent debating the general fund and education fund bills.

The status of bills, Senate and House Audio, standing committee assignments and other legislation can be found here