Capitol Recap: Georgia lawmakers toss the dice on a new gambling bill

The plan being advanced by Beach and state Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, would bring one of these resorts — the thesaurus also recommends "betting house," "gambling establishment," "gambling den," "betting parlor" and "gambling joint" — to Atlanta, and a second would go to either Augusta, Columbus or Savannah, which are all indeed destinations.

The Atlanta location — and talk suggests it could be next to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport — would require an investment of at least $2 billion. The other would cost its investors at least $450 million.

It’s actually a smaller plan than what was proposed last year in terms of locations – the 2016 version sought two “casino resorts” (it was a different time and a different vocabulary) in Atlanta, plus one each in Columbus, Macon, Savannah and South Georgia. This one, however, does require its developers to throw more nickels into the pot. The primary Atlanta license last year would have required an investment of $1 billion, and the other sites would cost a mere $200 million each.

One thing going for this year’s proposal is a lack of resistance (so far) from Gov. Nathan Deal, who opposed last year’s deal, but indicated his reluctance might be lessened if the tax rate on gross revenue were to fall somewhere between 24 percent and 35 percent.

Deal’s bigger concern this year is whether a “destination resort” could have a harmful impact on lottery ticket sales to the point of reducing funding to the HOPE scholarship, the state’s prized merit-based college scholarship program.

Beach and Stephens’ plan calls for 70 percent of the proceeds from the tax to go toward the HOPE scholarship. The rest would support a new needs-based scholarship, an apparent chip thrown toward Democrats.

Democratic support will be needed. A key part of the plan is a proposed constitutional amendment, which means it needs to win with two-thirds majorities in each chamber of the Legislature. Republicans can’t do that all on their own, even if they had total unity on the issue.

They don’t. Some see it as a morality issue. Others object to needs-based scholarships. It could also be hard to bring Democrats on board. Many fear gambling would lead to crime. Then there are those who think the proceeds should go to something else, such as health care for the poor.

If the proposal should happen to clear the Legislature, a referendum would be held in November 2018.

That’s when voters would come to the table.

Even more talk about gambling

Gambling — but is it really gambling? — came up in another conversation when state Rep. Trey Kelley, R-Cedartown, testified in support of his House Bill 118, which would regulate the fantasy sports websites that an estimated 1.5 million Georgians use.

Kelley told the House Ways and Means Committee that he doesn’t view fantasy sports as gambling. Choosing the right running back or second baseman is a game of skill based on research and practice, he said.

“To me, the issues are separate. I have serious reservations about pure gambling in our state, but games of skill are already allowed,” he said. “Golf tournaments, bass fishing tournaments, skeet shoots. We already allow those. I just see this as the proper classification.”

Others would disagree. In 2015, the New York attorney general called for a cease-and-desist order to stop two leaders in the field, FanDuel and DraftKings, from operating there because he said their operations constituted illegal gambling under state law.

The discussion seemed to put state Rep. Bruce Williamson, R-Monroe, in a tough position.

“It sounds like friendly competition, and the money is ancillary to it, but if the money is the whole driving factor, then it does sounds like gambling,” he said. “It would be hard for me to explain that in Walton County.”

Arm tattoos, armed forces don’t mix

Old soldiers may just fade away, but tattoos in certain places never stop being a problem in the military.

That's pretty much the impetus behind House Bill 123, which would require tattoo parlors to warn customers on consent forms that if they get inked on certain parts of their body, they may not be able to join the armed forces.

If you want a tat that's a tribute to Mom, the bill sponsored by state Rep. Sandra Scott, D-Rex, advises you to take care. Having it applied to your "face, neck, forearm, hand, wrist or lower leg" could mean you'll never wear a sergeant's stripes or a lieutenant's bars.

Legislative session coverage

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