REPRESENTATIVE RICHARD LINDSEY SECURES FUNDING IN LOTTERY BILL FOR VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS

The lottery bill that passed the Alabama House of Representatives last night includes additional funding for Volunteer Fire Departments in all 67 counties in Alabama, thanks to an amendment to the bill by Representative Richard Lindsey (D-Centre).

“Over the last several years, state funding for our volunteer fire departments has been cut to a bare minimum,” said Rep. Lindsey. “My amendment will restore funding to where it was before those cuts.”

The lottery bill splits the proceeds from the lottery between the state’s education and general fund budgets, with 90% going to the general fund budget and 10% going to education. Representative Lindsey’s amendment states that of the 90% going to the general fund, while 1% of that amount will then be distributed evenly among all the volunteer fire departments in the state.

Governor Bentley has estimated that a lottery will generate an additional $225 million a year in new state revenue.  Representative Lindsey’s amendment would dedicate around $2 million of that $225 million for volunteer fire departments, resulting approximately in an additional $2,000 per volunteer fire department in the state.

“It was a tough debate, and we couldn’t have gotten it passed without the help of the House Minority Leader, Representative Craig Ford,” said Lindsey. “Representative Ford personally spoke with several legislators to help address their concerns and move them from being undecided to a ‘yes’ vote.”

Said Representative Ford, “Representative Lindsey deserves a lot of credit for recognizing the need in our volunteer fire departments and taking action to help them. It’s a perfect example of how his experience and seniority in the legislature have paid off for our volunteer fire fighters and the people in Cherokee, Calhoun, Cleburne and Etowah counties” The amendment must now be approved by the state Senate before the lottery can go to a statewide vote of the people.  

Representative Richard Lindsey is a Democrat from Centre, and the former chairman of the House Ways & Means – Education Trust Fund budget committee; Representative Craig Ford is a Democrat from Gadsden and the Minority Leader in the Alabama House of Representatives