State Rep. Andy Witt (R-Harvest) has offered a more detailed explanation as to why state lawmakers have been unable to pass legal gambling and lottery bills during the 2024 session.

Witt, who chairs the Committee on Economic Development and Tourism, was directed last year by Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Leadbetter to investigate gambling in the state. Speaking on Alabama Public Television's “Capitol Journal,” Witt expressed frustration with how that process played out when lawmakers met earlier this year.

“Not only was it disappointing to me, but I'd been working hard on this bill for over 16 months,” Witt said. “I felt like we had a good deal. The Senate clearly thought differently and thought the bill needed to be watered down. The House came to this bill in a spirit of negotiation and was in good faith in negotiating with the Senate. We had a lot of faith that the Senate would keep their word and bring it to a floor vote. And we did in the House and the bill went to the Senate and ultimately failed by one vote.”

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Witt said outside forces successfully used their power and resources to influence the final outcome in the Senate, and that a second vote was not held after the first attempt.

“I can't tell you why. I have my suspicions,” he said. “Obviously there are outside influences. But it was a disappointing outcome. It was a disappointing outcome not just for me, but for all the other House members who voted in favor and all the senators who supported the bill.”

Lawmakers argued that the Yellow Hammer state missed an opportunity to benefit from the bill.

“Our biggest losers are the people of Alabama, again,” he said. “We let them down again and denied them the right to vote on a lottery bill, and it was an education lottery. We changed it back when the Senate changed hands. But we changed it back to an education lottery from the conference report.”

“And we wanted the people to vote,” he added, “and I firmly believe the people should vote. And unfortunately, the people have been let down again and we'll have to wait another year to see if this issue comes up again.”

RELATED: Leadbetter on the fate of legal gambling: 'At the end of the day, we just didn't have enough time'

Witt said if the state Legislature wants to have a chance to pass the bill in its next session, it first needs approval from the Senate.

“If that's going to happen, it's going to come from the Senate,” he argued. “I believe it needs to be taken up by the Senate. And then bring it back to the House. The House has proven it can pass a bill, and it has proven it will. The voters want a bill. They deserve a bill. And they've been very disappointed. And I think some of the senators are hearing that right now from their constituents.”

Yaffe is a contributing writer for Yellow Hammer News and hosts “The Yaffe Program” weekdays from 9-11 a.m. WhistlerYou can follow him on X @Yaffe