adminAlabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced Wednesday that he will be calling a Special Session of the Alabama Legislature to consider a proposal for a lottery in order to fund state government. Many have speculated that a special session would be called this year to address Medicaid funding shortfalls in the General Fund Budget passed by the legislature earlier this year, which recently were reported to be around $70 million.
Legislative leaders have been polling members to gauge support for a lottery and other gaming solutions and have reported back that the best time to attempt the special session would be in August. Any lottery proposal must be voted on by the people before taking place, and recent polling shows that more than 60 percent of Alabamians now support a lottery. While Bentley did not announce the date the special session would begin, for a lottery proposal to be on the ballot in November, the legislature will need to give final approval by Aug. 24.
We will continue to update you on any developments as soon as they are known.
