ATLANTA – With legislation aimed at legalizing pari-mutuel betting on horse racing stuck in a Georgia Senate committee, a House panel aired a new version of the measure Tuesday.
Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, pitched a constitutional amendment asking voters to decide whether to legalize the sport as a way to reenergize rural Georgia’s struggling economy.
“It will create a new industry in Georgia of horse breeders and horse sales that could have over $1 billion [a year] in economic impact in our state,” Stephens told members of the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee, which he chairs.
Stephens held out Ocala, Fla., as an example, home to 37,000 racehorses, by far the largest breeding and training ground for horseracing in the nation. The industry generates an annual economic impact of $1.5 billion in Marion County, where Ocala is located, he said.
Stephens said horse breeding could become a safety net for tree farmers who lost their pecan crops to Hurricane Michael in 2018. It will take 20 years to grow new pecan trees to replace those lost to the storm, he said.
“This would allow those farmers to get into another industry,” he said.
To broaden support for the constitutional amendment in the General Assembly, the measure would dedicate 10% of the net proceeds from pari-mutuel betting on horse racing to health care. Most previous horse racing legislation has proposed putting the proceeds exclusively toward Georgia’s lottery-funded HOPE Scholarships and pre-kindergarten programs.
Stephens said the portion of the proceeds going to health care could be steered to rural communities, where some cash-strapped hospitals have been forced to close in recent years.
But Rep. Winfred Dukes, D-Albany, complained that the language in the measure isn’t specific enough.
“If it’s not specifically outlined, my concern is that the money would go everywhere,” he said.
Stephens said another part of the proceeds would be used to create “an opportunity fund” that would provide need-based scholarships and pre-k assistance to Georgia families with annual incomes below $58,000. Currently, HOPE scholarships are based on merit rather than need.
If the constitutional amendment passes the committee, it would require two-thirds majorities of the House and Senate to get it through the General Assembly and onto next year’s statewide ballot.
That promises to be a difficult hill to climb considering many lawmakers oppose legalized gambling both on moral grounds and because of its tendency to enable addictive gamblers.
“We can put a lot of lipstick on this pig,” said Rep. Randy Nix, R-LaGrange, referring to the promises of rural economic development and funding for education and health care. “But at the end of the day, we’re going to expand gambling big time in the state of Georgia.”
After several committee members objected they hadn’t had a chance to review the new proposal, Stephens agreed to limit Tuesday’s meeting to a hearing only. The panel is expected to vote on it Thursday.
ATLANTA – The late Gov. Zell Miller will be honored with a monument on the grounds of the Georgia Capitol under legislation the state Senate passed unanimously Monday.
“This is about the man who gave us HOPE,” Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, the bill’s chief sponsor, told his Senate colleagues during a brief presentation. “He passed the HOPE Scholarship that has sent thousands and thousands of people to get higher education who never could have otherwise.”
Miller, a Democrat who served both as Georgia’s governor and as a U.S. senator, died in 2018 at age 86 after battling Parkinson’s disease.
During two terms as governor in the 1990s, Miller was the driving force behind the creation of the popular HOPE Scholarship program, funded through the Georgia Lottery.
Before that, the native of Young Harris served four terms as lieutenant governor.
After leaving the Governor’s Mansion, he was appointed to the Senate in 2000 by then-Gov. Roy Barnes after the sudden death of Republican Sen. Paul Coverdell.
Miller decided not to seek re-election in 2004 after a public falling out with the Democratic Party, which he criticized with his book “A National Party No More.”
Under Senate Bill 140, the monument’s design will be chosen by a six-member committee.
Two members will be appointed by the speaker of the Georgia House and two will be appointed by the lieutenant governor. The final two members – one from the House and one from the Senate – will be chosen by the governor.
The bill also stipulates that funding for the monument will be raised from private donations. The measure now moves to the House.
ATLANTA – Legislation that would make significant changes to regulations governing Georgia’s coin-operated amusement machines (COAM) got some pushback Monday from lobbyists representing the industry.
Senate Bill 217 doesn’t strike the proper balance between the owners of the machines and owners of the convenience stores where the machines are located, Les Schneider, representing the Georgia Amusement & Music Operators Association, told members of the Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee.
Under the bill, any contract between a machine owner licensed by the Georgia Lottery Corp. and a new COAM location would run for one year. After that, contracts could be renewed only for one year or seven years.
“This is a three-legged stool,” Schneider said, referring to the lottery, machine owners and location owners. “There can not be a perception that locations are chattels to master license holders.”
The bill stems from a Senate study committee that held several hearings last summer and fall.
Among other things, the panel endorsed the possibility of awarding gift cards to game winners as a way to discourage cash prizes, which are illegal under state law. Gift cards would be redeemable for gasoline and merchandise sold at the convenience store.
The gift card provision is part of a COAM bill the House Regulated Industries Committee approved last week. But the gift card is absent from the Senate measure.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-Macon, the Senate bill’s chief sponsor, said the lottery corporation is currently conducting a pilot program using gift cards.
“We need to wait and see what we learn from the work they’re doing,” he said.
Josh Belinfante, representing COAM machine owner Ultra Group, also complained about the provision in Kennedy’s bill locking in contracts between machine owners and location owners to one year with the seven-year option. He said he supports the House bill, which offers more flexible language governing contracts.
The committee did not vote on the Senate bill Monday. In fact, Chairman Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, suggested it might be better to wait for the House bill to clear that chamber and make its way over to the Senate.
“We’ve got an unfinished product right now, not ready for action,” he said.
Cowsert said the Senate might not have time to “perfect” Kennedy’s bill before Crossover Day, the deadline for bills to pass a legislative chamber in order to be considered further. Crossover Day is set for next Monday.
ATLANTA – The money deposited in nine state-run trust funds could be used for no other purpose under legislation that cleared the Georgia House Appropriations Committee Friday.
House Bill 511 is the follow-up to a constitutional amendment Georgia voters ratified overwhelmingly last fall requiring all revenues the state’s dedicated trust funds collect to remain inside those programs rather than be diverted into the general fund budget.
The late Georgia Rep. Jay Powell, R-Camilla, championed the constitutional amendment for years to prevent Georgia governors and legislative leaders from raiding the state’s Solid Waste and Hazardous Waste trust funds during economic downturns when money is tight.
The constitutional amendment finally gained passage last year following the unexpected death of Powell in November 2019 at age 67.
“When we in this General Assembly create and pass a dedicated fee to go to a certain purpose … it should go to the purpose it was intended for,” Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, who has shepherded the legislation since Powell’s death, told committee members Friday.
While Powell developed the proposal with the Solid Waste and Hazardous Waste trust funds in mind, the bill the committee adopted Friday also would apply to the following:
State Children’s Trust Fund, which goes to the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.
Wildlife Endowment Trust Fund, a tax on hunting and fishing licenses that supports state wildlife programs.
Georgia Trauma Care Network, which funds trauma care services through a fine on “super speeders.”
Transportation Trust Fund, which supports road projects through the state’s motor fuels tax.
Georgia Agricultural Trust Fund, which goes toward marketing the state’s farm products and state-run farmers’ markets.
Fireworks Trust Fund, a sales tax on fireworks that goes toward trauma care and firefighter training.
Georgia Transit Trust Fund, a per-ride tax on ride-sharing services that helps fund public transit improvements.
The constitutional amendment ratified last fall includes a 10-year sunset date to give lawmakers a chance to review each trust fund and ensure the services it helps pay for are still needed.
It allows governors and legislatures to suspend the dedication of trust fund revenues during economic emergencies to free up those funds for general spending needs.
Also, the total amount dedicated to the trust funds during a given fiscal year could not exceed 1% of the state’s budget from the previous fiscal year.
Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus, said the transit trust fund is particularly significant because it represents the first dedicated source of state funding for transit projects. The General Assembly earmarked $75 million in one-shot bond financing for transit in 2015.
“Transit has been neglected,” Smyre said. “This is a great step.”
The bill now moves to the House Rules Committee to schedule a floor vote.
ATLANTA – Legislation to legalize online sports betting in Georgia gained momentum in the state Senate Thursday just as it appeared to get sidetracked in the Georgia House of Representatives.
A Senate committee passed a constitutional amendment that would put sports betting on the statewide ballot next year for Georgia voters to decide.
Senators decided to pursue the referendum route after the House postponed a floor vote on a bill aimed at legalizing sports betting without changing the state Constitution.
“It looks like it might not fare well in the House,” said Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, chairman of the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee. “[A constitutional amendment] might be the way to go.”
Sports betting supporters, including an alliance of Atlanta’s four pro sports teams, have been pushing since last year for lawmakers to legalize betting on sports by statute, which would need only simple majority votes of the House and Senate.
Constitutional amendments require two-thirds majorities in each of the two legislative chambers, a higher hurdle that backers of legalizing casino gambling and pari-mutuel betting on horse racing have been unable to clear in the General Assembly in a decade of effort.
Cowsert said he has become convinced that passing a statute authorizing the Georgia Lottery Corp. to oversee sports betting without amending the Constitution wouldn’t overcome a court challenge.
“It’s a real stretch to call sports betting a lottery game,” he said. “We’re on pretty thin ice to convince a court.”
Cowsert said going the constitutional amendment route also would let lawmakers dedicate the proceeds from sports betting to purposes other than Georgia’s HOPE Scholarships and pre-kindergarten programs, which the lottery helps fund.
The constitutional amendment the committee approved Thursday would dedicate the proceeds instead to needs-based college scholarships, rural health care and deployment of broadband in unserved areas.
“I think this will probably generate much broader support for this initiative,” Cowsert said
Sen. Ed Harbison, D-Columbus, said HOPE originally was a needs-based scholarship program when voters approved the lottery in the early 1990s. After lottery sales took off, lawmakers removed an income cap that had been placed on scholarship awards, and HOPE become a merit-based program.
Besides the constitutional change, the committee also approved a 42-page “enabling” bill with details on how sports betting would be conducted in Georgia.
Under the bill, sportsbooks would pay a 16% tax on their income to the state.
The lottery board would license at least six companies such as FanDuel and DraftKings to operate online sportsbooks in Georgia. The companies would pay an application fee of $10,000 and annual operating fees of $100,000.
While wagering on college sports would be allowed, bettors could not wagers on Georgia’s sports teams.
Bettors would have to be located physically inside the state, a provision that would be enforced by geofencing technology.
As was the case during previous legislative hearings on legalizing gambling, the sports betting proposal drew opposition from representatives of faith-based groups.
Mike Griffin, representing the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, said online sports betting, which can be accessed through the convenience of a cellphone, is particularly prone to attracting problem gamblers.
“The majority of people who gamble are responsible” he said. “It’s the irresponsible people who contribute the most money.”
Cowsert said the legislation includes provisions to discourage addictive gambling. It would limit bettors to spending no more than $2,500 a month and prohibit sportsbooks from extending credit to bettors, he said.
Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, argued sports betting is already taking place illegally in Georgia, but the state isn’t benefitting because it can’t be taxed.
“This puts structure in it … [and] revenue that goes to important uses,” he said. “The money goes to a good cause. Right now, it goes to the bookie.”
The constitutional amendment and enabling bill now head to the Senate Rules Committee to schedule votes on the Senate floor.
