ATLANTA (AP) - One group of Georgia lawmakers studying whether to expand gambling in the state are putting off recommendations for now.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports a Senate committee didn’t come to any agreement on a report Wednesday.
A House committee is also studying ways to expand gambling, including casinos, sports betting and horse racing.
Adding casinos or horse racing would require a state constitutional amendment, and the legislature’s lawyers also advise that sports betting would also require one. That means both houses of the General Assembly have to approve the measure by two-thirds majorities, and then voters must ratify it at the polls.
Sen. Brandon Beach, an Alpharetta Republican who chaired the upper chamber’s study committee, said he still hopes the committee’s members reach agreement before the legislative session opens on Jan. 13
“So I decided to hold off. We’ve got time,” Beach said. “We’re going to talk about it in the next (Senate Republican) caucus meeting we have.”
Beach said he would like the Legislature to approve putting a constitutional amendment to Georgia voters that would allow all three forms of gambling to be considered. He said some committee members want voters to consider casinos, horse racing and sports betting separately. Georgia could also allow each county’s voters a separate referendum on local gambling.
State Sen. Bill Cowsert, an Athens Republican who has opposed casinos in the past, said he was keeping an open mind this year.
Lawmakers have spurned gambling expansions in the past, but flagging state revenues are causing spending cuts, building interest in new sources of money. Gambling could bolster the state’s HOPE scholarship programs for college students, as well as provide more funding for prekindergarten classes.
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