Georgia House panel backs casino gambling
Georgia could see up to four casino resorts under legislation approved Thursday by a state House committee.
The Regulated Industries Committee overwhelmingly approved both a constitutional amendment that would ask voters to allow the casinos and a separate bill that would dictate where they could locate, how they would operate and how revenue would be spent.
The vote is important because it means the bills could still reach the House floor before Monday’s Crossover Day, the last day for a bill to move from one chamber to the other without parliamentary maneuvering.
House Resolution 807 would ask Georgia voters to amend the state constitution to legalize casinos while House Bill 677 says there could only be four in the state: two in metro Atlanta and two in other parts of Georgia.
HB 677 has undergone major changes since first being introduced. The version passed Thursday would:
- Levy a 20 percent tax on casino revenues.
- Require a $1.25 billion investment for one Atlanta-area casino and a $750 million investment for the other. Each of the final two statewide licenses would require a $400 million investment.
- Set a fee of $40 million for a casino company to pay for a license to the main Atlanta resort and a fee of $25 million for the second metro location. The license fees for each of the other two casinos would be $15 million.
- Set aside a minimum of 90 percent, and a maximum of 97 percent, of the state's revenue for HOPE scholarships, grants and pre-k.
- Designate 1 percent to 2 percent for problem gambling organizations.
- Distribute 1 percent to 3 percent to communities where the casinos are located to help them pay for infrastructure and public safety needs.
There was little discussion among lawmakers before the vote, although some of the committee’s members advocated for revenue to go to health care or mental health. They did hear testimony, however, from a number of opponents, including representatives of local entertainment venues who worried they’d take a financial hit from business lost to gambling.
Mike Griffin, a lobbyist for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, said casinos would jeopardize “the moral integrity of our state,” and he urged lawmakers not use a statewide referendum to duck their responsibilities.
“We have representatives that should not be letting these kinds of decisions be thrown back on the people,” he said.
But state Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, the sponsor of both measures, said even after the statewide vote, local communities that want a casino must also hold a local referendum first.
Stephens also read a letter from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce urging lawmakers to pass both bills.
“From our policy perspective, our membership feels if legalized gambling is to be expanded in this state to include destination casino resorts, this decision should be made by statewide referendum where local communities are allowed to decide what’s best for their communities,” Stephens read.
