Montgomery, AL – Key legislators say the highly advertised ``Sweet Home Alabama'' gambling bill is dead for this session because it doesn't have enough support to pass in the Senate.
The Senate Rules Committee chairman, Democrat Lowell Barron of Fyffe, says he's not going to put the bill on the Senate's work agenda during the session's closing days because it is several votes short of passage.
A sponsor, Democratic Rep. Marcel Black of Tuscumbia, agrees. He says there's no need for the House to consider the bill if it can't pass the Senate. Black predicts it will be back next year.
The bill is a proposed constitutional amendment to tax, regulate and expand electronic bingo. It was promoted in a statewide advertising campaign featuring country music stars, including Alabama singer Randy Owen.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)