The Democratic leader in the Alabama House is calling for the Legislature to use its election-year session to approve a state lottery.
House Minority Leader Craig Ford of Gadsden says a lottery could create as much as $250 million annually for schools. He says many Alabamians are playing lotteries in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, and he wants to keep their money at home.
House Majority Leader Micky Hammon of Decatur says the lottery issue has lost time after time. He recalled that the Democratic nominee for governor in 2010, Ron Sparks, ran on the lottery issue and lost.
Republican House Speaker Mike Hubbard of Auburn says the Republican majority will work to put more money in Alabamians' pockets, not take it out.