Apr. 04, 2025

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The gambling bill we've been hearing about for several days was made public on Thursday, reports AL.com's Mike Cason and John Sharp.

The plan is from state Sen. Greg Albritton, an Atmore Republican. The proposal is for a state lottery, electronic gambling at former greyhound tracks and other sites, legal sports betting, a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians for four casinos and the creation of the Alabama Gaming Commission.

Also, it calls for a 24% tax on net revenue from electronic gambling and sports betting, an excise tax on each gambling machine, and a sports wagering tax on each bet.

As with all gambling bills -- they come up every year, and they fail every year -- there is a companion bill that includes a constitutional amendment for the people to vote on. If the package were to pass, that amendment would be on the ballot for a Sept. 16 referendum.

Does it stand a snowball's chance in Alabama? Doesn't sound like it yet.

Albritton admitted he's short of the 21 votes needed in the Senate.

Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, a Cullman Republican, did not sound enthused: “With 12 meeting days remaining in the session, both budgets still awaiting approval, and other important bills and measures demanding focus and attention, the comprehensive gaming bill released today is simply too little, too late, and has too few votes to pass.”

The General Fund budget, which includes funding for non-education agencies, was passed by the full House of Representatives. Keep an eye on it in the Senate. As we mentioned yesterday, state Sen. Rodger Smitherman, a Birmingham Democrat, has vowed to fight what he sees as anti-diversity cuts to the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum, the Magic City Classic, the Jazz Hall of Fame and others.

A Baldwin County issue over the distribution of a percentage point of the county sales tax led to conflict in the Senate. A bill was introduced that would prohibit county sales-tax money to be used for county school-board projects in areas that are served by a city school system. It pits those representing fairly new city school systems against those representing other areas of Baldwin County, and on Thursday it pitted Sen. Chris Elliott against Sen. Greg Albritton. Discussion was fiery enough that Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, a Birmingham Democrat, told her two colleague to “take it back home.”

And the House passed a bill that would prohibit K-12 students from using cellphones and other such devices during class. It also calls for the State Department of Education to provide training on the risks of social media.

If you feel like it's been a little warm lately, it's not just you.

Muscle Shoals, Tuscaloosa and Montgomery all tied or broke record highs Thursday. Those cities all hit 87 degrees.

AL.com's Leigh Morgan reports that pattern's expected to stay with us today and tomorrow. We might even have a few places flirt with 90.

However, don't put away your jacket yet. A cold front is going to come into the state over the weekend. We could see storms and possibly even severe weather later Saturday, then it's going to be cool for several days.

It's that time of the week again. Click here to test your knowledge with five quick multiple-choice questions.

“When we were doing our first read-through, I said to myself ‘Michael, you better step it up here or he’s going to walk all over you.'”

Actor and Anniston native Michael Biehn, on playing Johnny Ringo, a nemesis of Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday in 1993's "Tombstone," to CBS42. Kilmer died this week after years of health problems.

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