In Case you are Interested…..

The legislature has been off for one week but heads back to the State House on Tuesday.  Many bills that are not good for Alabama are flying through the State House incredibly fast with little discussion by legislators.WIth the limited access to legislators they are not well informed about the unintended consequences of many of these bill ( and often don’t have all of the facts). There are several bills on my good list.  One to provide Direct Access to Physical Therapy and one to protect Home Inspectors. More information on those to come.

Bills on the Top of my BAD LIST are:

• Gaming Legislation
• Athletic Trainer Bill
• Bill to Remove the Oversight of the Department of Construction Management
• Bill to Remove the ability for a Child to Talk with a Counselor, Nurse, Doctor without it being required by law that discussions must be shared with parents. (please remember that children need a confidant)

Here are the details on the bills on the Bad List:

Gaming
As this gaming bill is headed to a vote in the Senate as early as tomorrow, I want all of you to be aware of what this bill actually does. Below please find my assessment of this bill.

Charitable Bingo in Greene County

The Legislature is choosing Greenetrack to be Greene County “winner” in this Gaming Legislation. 

There are several reputable bingo facilities in Greene County who have significant investments in Greene County, who employee a large number of people and provide benefits to those employees.  All these facilities provide direct financial stability to Greene County and the surrounding communities.

BOX FEES

Box Fees  are mandated fees at each facility and are determined by the number of bingo machines.

These numbers clearly indicate that Greenetrack cannot and does not have the most investment, the most patrons, the most employees, and does not come close to paying the most mandated fees. There is absolutely no reason for Greene Track to have been selected over these two facilities. 

Charity Bingo in Greene County

Charity Bingo is a vital source of revenue in Greene County. The community is dependent of charity bingo funds to operate.

Greene County Charity Bingo:                

Dec monthly 2020 distribution total:  $556,968.83 from:  River’s Edge, Palace, Bama Bingo, Greenetrack, and Frontier.
Under the proposed legislation, only Eutaw and the County Commission would continue to receive bingo money. The hospital, the Cities of Boligee, Forkland, and Union, the Sheriff’s Department, the Board of Education, the Housing Authority, and others will suffer a severe reduction in revenue. 

The recipients of the December distributions: 

River’s Edge gave a total of $114,994.98 to the following: Greene County Commission, $30,570; Greene County Sheriff’s Department, $33,750; City of Eutaw, $9,250; and the Towns of Forkland, Union and Boligee each, $3,875; Greene County Board of Education, $10,500; Greene County Health System, $12,500. Sub Charities each, $1,333.33.
The Palace gave a total of $140,983.89 to the following: Greene County Commission, $37,478.82; Greene County Sheriff’s Department, $41,377.50; City of Eutaw, $11,340.50; and the Towns of Forkland, Union and Boligee each, $4,750.75; Greene County Board of Education, $12,873 and the Greene County Health System, $15,325; Sub Charities each, 1,389.47.
Greenetrack: gave a total of $71,000 but their distribution list was not available.

click to read -> Athletic Trainer Bill

click to read -> Department of Construction Management

click to read -> Child Protection Bill