‘Tweak’ to Georgia casino bill puts Columbus back in the game

As a Georgia Senate committee prepares to have the first public discussion of proposed casino gambling legislation, it appears Columbus is back in game as a potential site.

Thursday afternoon, Senate Bill 79 will be presented to the Senate Regulated Industries Committee by one of its sponsors, State Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta. No committee vote is expected today. The bill must pass the committee to be considered by the full Senate.

Beach is prepared to make a significant change in the legislation, said Sen. Ed Harbison, D-Columbus, and Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus. Both lawmakers have met with Beach and expressed concerns about the initial legislation.

The original bill, dropped last month, using county population numbers, would have made Fulton County(Atlanta) and Chatham County (Savannah) as the only two areas under consideration for casino destination resorts should it pass the General Assembly be signed into law by Gov. Nathan Deal and approved by voters.

The population trigger has been lowered from 250,000 to 200,000, Harbison said, so Columbus and Augusta would now be in the discussion for possible casino sites if this comes to fruition.

Muscogee County and Richmond County both have populations that are slightly more than 200,000 people.

“I expect there will be more tweaking to this bill,” Harbison said. “But this is a pretty good start to the tweaking. ... This is more palatable to us. It now puts us in the mix. If this is going to happen, Columbus needs to have choice.”

Columbus Council weighed in on the matter in November when it approved a resolution in support of legislation that would put casino gambling up for a statewide vote in Georgia. That resolution was requested by Columbus entrepreneur Robert Wright Jr., who told the Ledger-Enquirer that he wanted to bring a $200 million resort casino to south Columbus if the state of Georgia legalizes gambling.

Smyre said he has met with Beach and Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, who has sponsored similar legislation in the House.

“I expressed my concerns,” Smyre said.

The initial legislation also called for a $400 million investment in the casino outside of Atlanta. That number should also come down, Smyre said Thursday morning.

“I have not gotten a final figure from them, but it won’t be $400 million,” Smyre said. “It could be $200 million, $250 million, $300 million. We don’t know yet.”

It will take 120 votes in the House and 39 votes in the Senate for the bill to pass the General Assembly. Lawmakers from both parties agree that it will take a bipartisan effort to pass the bill.

Smyre, the longest serving member of the General Assembly and a Democratic leader, is seen as a key player in the legislation despite the fact that both chambers are solidly controlled by Republicans.

This story was originally published February 9, 2017 at 10:51 AM with the headline "‘Tweak’ to Georgia casino bill puts Columbus back in the game."