Georgia casino bill hits snag in Senate committee; not dead yet

The legislation that would pave the way for Georgia voters to decide if they want casino gambling in the state was put on life support Thursday morning in the state Senate, but the bill’s sponsor is confident he can revive it over the weekend.

Senate Bill 79, which would create two resort-style casinos in Georgia, was scheduled for a second hearing Thursday in front of the Regulated Industries Committee. The meeting was canceled.

Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, the bill’s author, said he anticipated getting a committee hearing for the bill on Monday.

“I have asked to be on the agenda Monday,” he said. “That will give me more time to shore up the votes. It’s real close right now.”

Beach is also batting a deadline to get the bill passed on the Senate side and into the House. That is “cross over day” and for a bill to pass this session it has to be in the other chamber by the 28th legislation day, which is March 3.

“I think if we can get this into the chamber, more people are for it,” Beach said. “We have to get it out of committee.”

Both Columbus senators, Republican Josh McKoon and Democrat Ed Harbison, are on the Regulated Industries Committee. Harbison said if it comes to a vote, he will vote to move it out of committee.

“I feel it is my obligation to give the people the chance to vote on this,” Harbison said Thursday morning as he was waiting for the Senate to begin its work.

McKoon is looking at it differently.

“If I had to vote right now, it would be a no,” McKoon said. “... I don’t think that I am the only no vote.”

Another caveat has been added to the bill to get support from rural lawmakers, Beach said. In addition to HOPE and need-based higher education funding being generated by casino gambling, there is $84 million annually for rural health care and rural trauma care and about $15 million for rural broadband technology, Beach said. The broadband piece has been added since the initial committee meeting.

“I am confident we can get the votes,” Beach said.

The original legislation would have only allowed two casino resorts in the state. Population triggers were used in the bill, which would put one in the metro Atlanta area, either in Fulton, Gwinnett or DeKalb counties. The second casino would be limited to the Savannah and the Georgia coast.

Rep. Calvin Smyre, a co-sponsor of a similar bill in the House, and Harbison, a co-sponsor of the Senate bill, have fought to have Columbus and other second-tier cities considered should the legislation pass and the matter is put in front of Georgia voters.

For casino gambling to become a reality in Georgia, it would have to pass the General Assembly, be signed into law by Gov. Nathan Deal. Then it would have to be passed in a statewide referendum. If it clears all those hurdles, it would still have pass in the local jurisdictions that are awarded a casino license.

The amount of the potential casino investment was discussed two weeks ago in a packed room for the Regulated Industries Committee, which spent about an hour listening to Beach and others who were in favor and some who opposed the legislation.

The minimum investment in metro Atlanta for a casino resort destination, according to the bill, is $2 billion. The minimum investment for the one that appears to target Savannah is $450 million.

In November, Columbus Council weighed in on the matter 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 legalizes gambling.

This story was originally published February 23, 2017 at 11:06 AM with the headline "Georgia casino bill hits snag in Senate committee; not dead yet."