Casino gaming advocates have decided to push for a statewide voter referendum later this year, essentially abandoning efforts for now to also pass enabling legislation that would eventually govern any gambling expansion in Georgia.
The decision to go all-in on the referendum comes as gambling supporters had yet to agree on a firm plan for how to implement a legalized gambling expansion in Georgia — something currently under debate at the state Capitol, where lawmakers came back to work today for their 2016 legislative session.
A current legislative proposal — House Bill 677 — calls for up to six "destination" casino resort licenses that would be allowed across five geographic zones in Georgia: Atlanta, Columbus, Macon, Savannah and South Georgia.
Gov. Nathan Deal, however, has opposed the effort, and both state House and Senate committees that studied the issue last year couldn't agree on a tax rate.
“I really firmly believe we’ve got to do something this year,” said the bill’s author, state Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah. “We need to focus 100 percent on passing the constitutional amendment.”
Stephens' companion House Resolution 807 proposes a constitutional amendment allowing casino gaming in Georgia. It's this second measure that will now be pushed by supporters, although it will still be a tall order: passage will require a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate before it would be eligible for the November ballot.
Passage of HR 807, however, would neutralize Deal, since his signature is not required once those two-thirds majorities are reached. If voters approved the measure, Stephens said he would propose enabling legislation next year to set new casino gambling rules in Georgia.
Bringing casinos to Georgia is a popular idea: 62 percent of registered voters favor legalization of casino gambling in Georgia to support the state's HOPE scholarship and other education programs, according to an exclusive new poll from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution from this past weekend.
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