A constitutional amendment for the legalization of casino gambling in Georgia and an accompanying Senate Bill for the regulation of the state’s gambling industry are to get their first committee vote later this week. If voted in the affirmative, they will next be sent to another committee and possibly to the full Senate floor.
It will be on Thursday, February 23, when SB 79, sponsored by Sen. Brandon Beach, and the proposed constitutional amendment tacked onto it will be voted by the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee. If the legislative pieces pass their first hurdle successfully, they will then go to the Senate Rules Committee. Sen. Beach has previously pointed out that he believes his effort will gain the necessary support in the full Senate, if it reaches it.
Under SB 79, up to two casino resorts will be built in Georgia – one in the Atlanta metropolitan area, near a convention center, and the other in any urban area with a population of over 180,000 people.
The Atlanta project will have to be valued at no less than $2 billion. The other casino property will not be required to be of such a massive scale. The two resorts will have to generate more than a half of their whole income from other, non-gambling, services.
If casino gambling is legalized in Georgia, the state’s two gambling venues will have to pay a 20% tax on their full-year revenue. Under Sen. Beach’s bill, 30% of the tax revenue will be contributed to the state HOPE scholarship program, which has so far been backed by the Georgia Lottery. Separate portions of the levy will be used to fund other scholarship programs, as well as rural healthcare and rural trauma care causes.
As mentioned above, Sen. Beach introduced late last week a Senate Resolution 249 to accompany his bill. If the resolution is approved, changes will be implemented in the Georgia Constitution to allow casino gambling within the state’s borders. However, this still would only be possible, if residents approve the construction of casinos at a statewide referendum. A separate referendum will next have to be held among residents of the municipalities selected to host the gambling venues.
