• The AL joint House and Senate Tourism & Travel meeting with a public hearing on BINGO has come to order. #
• House T&T Chairman, Johnny Mack Marrow starts the meeting by showing video of the raid on Country Crossing. #
• Marrow: According to state troopers I spoke with, half of our state trooper force was used for these raids. #
• Marrow: 1 trooper could have accomplished what all of these state troopers could not. #
• Marrow: We need to decide if you are playing bingo on a computer, ARE you really playing bingo? #
• The bill proposed by the T&T committee is a constitutional amendment. It will NOT go to the Governor, it will go to the Secretary of State. #
• Singleton: The bills before us will solve the problems in the state of Alabama. #
• Thomas: I am pissed off, highly pissed off. #
• Thomas: Utilizing state resources to do what "we" want to do when we have public lives at stake. #
• Crawford Nevins, opponent: I have a personal reason for opposing this. I never knew my father because he spent all of his time gambling. #
• Nevins: Gambling is the wrong way to raise funds. We need to raise funds in the right and legal way. #
• Robert Williamson, Mayor of Florala: Floral has been given the hope of a better tomorrow. A developer wants to build a gaming facility. #
• Mayor of Tuskegee: It is an insult to the people of Macon county to say that they did not know what they were voting on. #
• Mayor of Tuskegee: Once and for all, LET THE PEOPLE VOTE! #
• Dan Ireland, ALCAP: We are not talking about BINGO we are talkling about gambling, slot machines. #
• Ireland: The payroll at Macon county is met out of the pockets of the losers. #
• Ireland: Alabama is a better state than to have to turn to gambling. We can help the needy without turning to gambling. #
• Ireland: Our law enforcement has the responsibility to enforce was what is lawless. #
• Lewis Maxwell, Chair Macon Co Commission: Macon County is in support of this proposed amendment. Electornic bingo is not new to Macon Co. #
• View the proposed bill, SB380 http://bit.ly/bdmcbs,, #
• Maxwell: Macon county is together in their support of this legislation. #
• Mayor Willie May Powell: When Victory Land was raided, we had more state troopers in our county than we had citizens that day. #
• Powell, Mayor of Shorter: I am ashamed of AL right now. We do not need to have this fight with the Governor. #
• Rick Sellers: It is an insult to the people of Tuskegee to think that gambling is the only industry that can grow in your community. #
• Sellers: I have 10 small business ideas for you right now if people would pay more attention to small business development. #
• Sellers: Small business development is the key to the future of this state. #
• Dianne Robinson, Tuskegee Theatre: We believe that our county has the right to experience the high quality of life as every other county. #
• Robinson: Charity bingo in Macon County provides money to the arts. #
• Robinson: Gambling in Macon Co is important. We voted on electronic bingo in Macon Co. #
• Travis Coleman, 1st Baptist Prattville, AL: Every law is a moral law, it just depends on whose morals you are going to follow. #
• Coleman: Gambling takes advantage of the poor, it is a regressive tax. #
• Stanley Maxwell, Tuskegee: Be a stateman, allow the people in your district to vote. Don't tell me what my morals are. #
• Joe Godfrey, ALCAP: Churches are going to have to scrape together missions and ministry $$ to fight gambling. #
• Godfrey: My heart goes out to the people who have lost jobs, but I am telling you gambling does not solve the problem. #
• Godfrey: Churches cannot compete with the gambling bosses and moguls coming into the state telling citizens how great gambling is. #
• Rep. Marcel Black, sponsor of HB507: This bill will limit and tax gambling. http://bit.ly/bXP1bo,, #
• Sponsor Black: HB507-tax, limit, and regulate #
• Press Release from Governor Bob Riley in response to HB507 and SB380 http://bit.ly/cOL1VL #
• Eric Johnston, Citizens for a Better AL: These bills create a monopoly for existing gambling industries. #
• Johnston: The law is not vague, the AL Supreme Court has ruled clearly what type of gambling is legal in AL. #
• Johnston: We are a nation of laws not men. #
• Johnston: I urge you to do the right thing, the honorable thing and vote against this bill. #
• Ron Davis, Mayor of Prichard: I think this would be a good opportunity for economic development and tourism. #
• Tim York, pastor in Decatur: Gambling is nothing more than a tax upon churches. #
• York: We will be left to clean up the devastation that this immoral behavior left behind. #
• York: Please do not allow yourself to fall into the same moral comma that others have. #
• Bill Clark, former State Rep-Prichard: Absent of this bill, we will continue to have the confusion that we have now. #
• Clark: No one should really question you by letting the people vote. #
• Jeffrey Peacock, Pastor in Dothan, AL: This is not about jobs, its about greed of certain casino owners. #
• Peacock: I oppose this because I base the decisions I make on the word of God. The bible says gambling is wrong. #
• Peacock: The suicide rate of a gambler is 20 times higher than a non gambler. #
• Peacock: Don't do this to the people of Alabama. Don't do this to the children. Its the childen that this will affect. #
• Mark Culver, chair of the Houston Co commission: We have done everything we can to make sure Country Crossing is legal. #
• Culver: We have tremendous community support for Country Crossing. #
• Culver: No ruling has ever been made to say what is going on in my community is illegal. #
• Culver: We live in America where law abiding citizens should feel free from unjust attacks. #
• Carl Stegall, former Methodist minister:There is great confusion in AL about Bingo, but let there be no confusion on the devasting affects. #
• Stegall: Don't talk to me this morning about all of the good of gambling, I have seen the dispicable results. #
• Stegall: Its not about winning, its about losing. #
• Albert Turner: Gentleman Bob Riley has decided to impose his will on the people of Alabama. #
• Turner: We must take serious this administration's disregard of the constitution and our citizens rights. #
• Opponet: Gambling is a very ugly thing. It has been paraded as a beauty queen but it is a very ugly thing. #
• Opponent: Gambling breeds poverity, its factural. Gambling incroaches and corrupts political movements. #
• Opponent: This is not a peacable bunch, its a greedy bunch. It breeds political corruption and prostitution. #
• Opponent: Some of us are not willing to sell our soul to make money. #
• Carrie Till, Stop Predatory Gambling: This is a social justice issue. #
• Les Bernal, Stop Predatory Gambling: This is about wisdom and foolishness. #
• Stop Predatory Gambling: This is about wisdom and foolishness. #
• AL Policy Institute: Casinos have a long term affect of cannibalizing their economies. #
• The Joint House & Senate T&T public hearing has ended. Members of both chambers will speak now. #
• Senator Quinton Ross: I don't stand to out God anyone. I do stand for this issue that is before us. This is a legal issue. #
• Ross: I ask this committee to look at the issue. We are a nation of laws. Riley has served this state for almost 8 years. #
• Ross: THIS year Riley has decided to take issue with this. If Riley wanted the office of AG, thats the office he should have run for. #
• Ross: The fear must stop, the time is now. We should allow the people of this state to vote on this issue. #
• Ross: Some of the very people who stood to speak today have taken $$ from Mississippi to oppose gambling here. #
• Ross: I have always said I am with the Governor, I do not want illegal gambling. But I do support the people's right to vote. #
• Ross: At the end of the day, allow the people of this state to vote on this issue once and for all. #
• Rep. Locy Baker (D): We cannot pick our sins as individuals. I urge this committee to look at what is right and wrong. #
• Baker: Can we afford to go backwards, I say no. Members of the committee, I ask you to think, lets not be fools. #
• Morrow: I said that I have never gambled, I need to take that back. I did farm once. #
• Rep. M. Coleman (D): I want to come here in support of the city of Fairfield. #
• Coleman: I am here to fight for the jobs of the people of Fairfield. #
• Rep. AJ McCampbell (D): We need to stop the problems and the raids that are going on. You don't have to fight the gaming bosses. #
• Speaker Pro Tem, Demetrius Newton (D): The Governor should not let the unemployed from Victoryland and Country Crossing draw unemployment. #
• Newton: If you want to see some big time gambling, take a look at Auburn and Alabama football sometime. #
• Senate Pro Tem, Rodger Smitherman: This is an employment bill. We already have gaming in our state. #
• Smitherman: I think this is one of the most important issues that we can deal with at this time other than the budgets. #
• Smitherman: I encourage each person to give people the opportunity to vote. #
• The Senate T&T committee will vote on SB380 today. #
• Singleton: Until Riley shows us that he can take all of us to jail, we are going to STAND and stand tall in Greene Co. I am sleepy & tired. #
• Singleton: I am going to be in Greene Co protecting my people and their jobs. #
• Singleton: If you come in the middle of the night thinking you can do a warrantless search, you are going to meet resistance. #
• Singleton: I refuse to allow you (RIley) to continue to shut down jobs in my community. #
• Singleton: We don't want welfare we want workfare. Give us our jobs back. #
• Singleton: We are going to pass these bills for the people of Alabama. #
• Look for LIVE tweets inside the Senate Tourism & Travel committee meeting. #
• 5 members is the quorum for the Senate Tourism & Marketing committee. #
• Bills to be discussed by the Senate Tourism & Marketing committee, SB379 & SB380. #
• View SB379 http://bit.ly/bgBXMo,, #
• View SB30 http://bit.ly/bdmcbs,, #
• Both Senate bingo bills are sponsored by Senator Roger Bedford. #
• The Alabama House will convene today at 1:00 pm, the Senate will convene at 2:00 pm. #
• The Senate T&M committee meeting has come to order. Only 2 republicans (Marsh & Waggoner) reside on this committee. #
• Singleton: SB380, constitutional amendment, will regulate and tax gaming in the state. #
• Singleton: Taxes from gaming will go back to the education and general fund. #
• Senator Jabo Waggoner (R): Let me make a bold prediction that this bill is about to come out this committee 6 to 2. #
• Waggoner: There will be a lot of conversation when this bill comes to the floor. We are not going to roll over. #
• Sen. Del Marsh (R): I do not believe in any way that this is a job creator, I believe its a job killer. I #
• Marsh: I hope we have good, long, discussion before we let this go to the people for a vote. #
• Sen. Myron Penn (D): My vote is going to be based on the people of my district. #
• Penn: Give government back to the people. #
• Senator Lowell Barron (D): Sen. Penn my road bill that you skipped out on would have let the people vote. I wanted to remind you of that. #
• Penn: My concern is for people who have lost things, not on what peple can gain. #
• @SentorZeb (Z. Little-D): For too long this legislature has ignored this issue and done nothing. We have the opportunity to regulate and tax #
• @SenatorZeb: I encourage anybody against this bill to come with an alternate proposal. #
• @SenatorZeb: It is up to us to pass something to put before the people. #
• The Senate Tourism & Marketing committee gave SB380 a favorable report with a vote of 6 to 2. #
• Singleton: SB379 is a bill of fairness. #
• SB379 defines BINGO in the state of Alabama. #
• Singleton: If the constitutional amendment on SB380 were to fail, SB379 would go away. #
• SB379 receives a favorable report from the Senate T&M committee with a vote of 6 to 2. #
• The Alabama House has come to order for the 9th legislative day of the 2010 Regular Session. #
• The House is currently taking up uncontested local bills. #
• Governor Riley: Gambling Proposal is a “Crooked Bill”: http://bit.ly/aeLJgI #
• The Alabama Senate has come to order for the 9th legislative day of the 2010 Regular Session. #
• Senator Hank Erwin, speaking on gambling: The issue is about the rule of law, its not about jobs. #
• Erwin: If our Attorney General is not going to enforce the law then our Governor has every right to do so. #
• Erwin: I think our Governor has been very restrained in his enforcement of the law. #
• Sen. Bobby Singleton (D): Until this Governor decides to come into my county with a legal search warrant, we will stand in the door. #
• Singleton to Erwin: You live over in ol' rich Shelby county, you don't have but one section with black people. #
• Singleton to Erwin: You want to act like you are so righteous. We have made too many strides forward to allow this Gov to take us back. #
• SB45 passed the senate relating to Auburn Board of trustees and teleconferencing. #
• Marsh and Beason (both R) speaking on SB36…looks like a stall. http://bit.ly/ayh8ve,, #
• View SB36 http://bit.ly/ayh8ve,, #
• Beason and Marsh are stalling a vote on SB36 to show their concern for not having a special order calendar 24 hrs in advance. #
• @ScottBeason: It bothers me that lobbyists see the Senate special order calendar before I do. #
• SB36 requires all contractors with the state to disclose all subcontractors. #
• SB36 passed the AL Senate. #
• Barron and Marsh bickering on the senate floor. #
• Marsh to Barron: You spoke a mistruth to me. #
• Marsh: This is supposed to be an honorable body and today it wasn't. #
• Bickering on the senate floor is because Marsh asked Barron not to take introduction of bills and committee reports. Barron said he wouldn't #
• Marsh is upset now because the senate is now receiving committee reports. #
• Bishop: I can tell you one thing, we aren't going to let any fight break out. #
• Barron: I was honest with you, I scratched off committee reports and introduction of bills #
• Dixon (R): This is the 9th legislative day, we have 21 more days to go. Right now 15 people feel like they have been taken advantage of. #
• Smitherman: I want committee reports, I want the (BINGO) bill before us. I have people out there losing jobs. #
• @JimFolsomJr: The body works a lot better in t he long run when everyone knows what is coming. #
• @JimFolsomJr: I think its best to let the minority know what is coming if they want to filibuster. #
• @JimFolsomJr: I hope this misunderstanding doesn't encourage mistrust in the future. Let's try to build some trust. #
• State Rep. David Grimes announced today that he will run for re-election. #
• The Senate Rules chair has offered his special order calendar consisting of 7 bills, all democrat sponsored bills except 1. #
• The Senate special order calendar has been adopted. #
• SB283 (Amended) pertaining to BRAC and Redstone Arsenal passed the AL Senate. 31 to O #
• AL Senate discusses SB315 by Sen. Keahey: http://bit.ly/aeGmbT,, #
• SB315 passed the AL Senate. #
• Marsh: The only motion I will entertain at this time is a motion to adjourn. #
• Marsh: I would like to start my 1st hour. I intend on passing this bill but it will not be today. #
• Marsh (R): I don't think any amendments can be offered to make the Sweet Home Alabama bill, SB380, a good bill. #
• The AL Senate stands in adjournment until 10:00 am on Thursday. #

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