Georgia Casino Bill Dead For 2017

ATLANTA, GA — A bill that could have allowed casino gambling in Georgia is dead for this year, according to the legislation's sponsor.

Sen. Brandon Beach, a Republican from Alpharetta, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he does not have enough support to get Senate Bill 79 out of the committee it needs to clear before being considered by the full Senate.

"I am not discouraged," Beach told the AJC. "I will double down and plan to crisscross the state starting in April" to build future support for the measure.

The bill had been scheduled for a vote in the Senate Regulated Industries Committee on Thursday.

But, late Wednesday, that committee's chairman notified members that the hearing was canceled.

The legislation would allow voters to approve two resort-style casinos in Georgia. One would be in metro Atlanta and the other around Savannah, on the Georgia coast. Lawmakers from other parts of the state, notably Columbus, have pushed to have more casinos allowed in other places.

As part of the legislation, the casinos would generate revenue for Georgia's HOPE scholarship and other higher education funding, as well as money for rural health care and broadband technology.

Beach has said he thinks there's more support for the legislation in the General Assembly as a whole than there is on the Senate Regulated Industries Committee, where the bill has been assigned for consideration.

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