Budgets, gambling loom large as legislative session opens

DOTHAN, Ala.—Although scores of bills have been prefiled, local legislators believe the monumental budget shortfall and the potential for gaming legislation will dominate the session when it begins today.

“It’s going to be rough,“ said Rep. Locy Baker, D-Abbeville.

Elected officials have anticipated the shortfalls and have been trying to brace constituents for months. They say an infusion of federal stimulus money propped up many state budgets - including Alabama’s - and that additional stimulus money is unlikely. With unemployment above 10 percent, revenue is expected to dip in 2010 and be felt severely in 2011, leaving a shortfall of as much as $672 million.

Legislators are shy to suggest tax increases and the electorate is shy to embrace a legislator who does, leaving the House and Senate looking for an additional revenue stream.

Gaming bills are regularly introduced in the Legislature, but are typically killed before being debated or voted down. Baker, however, said the budget shortfall may allow a gaming bill to be passed.

“Will a gaming bill come up? I’m sure it will,“ Baker said. “Will one come out? That remains to be seen.“

Baker said he would support a gaming bill that allowed a statewide referendum, giving voters the chance to vote on the issue. He said he supports establishing a gaming commission to regulate the industry and taxing revenues.

“If we’re not going to have gambling, then get rid of it everywhere,“ Baker said. “That would be my message to the governor. But if we’re going to let it go on somewhere, then let’s not be selective about where we allow it to go on.“

Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, said it will be difficult to find enough legislators to agree on all of the elements related to a gaming bill.

“How much do you tax it? Do you do it all across the board or just in the counties where amendments currently exist? There are a lot of different opinions and a lot of sticking points. It all comes down to the wording of the bill. I prefer a clear-cut bill where the vote is to legalize it and tax it or ban it altogether.“

Sen. Harri Anne Smith, R-Slocomb, said she continues to support Country Crossing “for the jobs” and said she would support a gaming bill that allowed the people of Alabama to vote on the issue.

However, she said she is not sure if a bill will come out of the Legislature this session.

“In a word, I think this session is going to be about accountability,“ Smith said. “We have to be thinking about accountability at every level when we are dealing with this shortfall. That means looking at every program and seeing what can be done more efficiently, looking at programs that may have been efficient 10 or 15 years ago and may not have been evaluated recently.

“That means looking at things like illegal immigration, and taking a strong look at those that are here illegally using taxpayer funds for education, health care, the prison system and such,“ Smith added. “And of course, every decision we make will be with jobs in mind.“

Smith said she plans to look hard at a potential bill that would take $100 million a year for 10 years from the Alabama Trust fund to fund road projects. She said the project could create thousands of jobs. According to an Associated Press report, the fund contains $2.6 billion in royalties that came from natural gas wells drilled along the state’s Gulf Coast.

The bill would give one-fourth of the money each year to city and county governments for local projects. Three-fourths would go to the state Department of Transportation for use statewide.

Legislators may also review the Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) program, and Clouse would like to see a healthy debate on prior-year budgeting for the state budget.

“Right now, we’re just ‘guesstimating’ on what we expect to bring in a year in advance,“ Clouse said.

Locally, Smith and Rep. Warren Beck, R-Geneva, plan to introduce a bill that would allow residents in Geneva County to determine whether they want to pay an extra fee to fund local volunteer fire departments. The bill would be voted on according to district, meaning only those fire districts in which the voters approve the bill would be required to pay the fee.