Armstrong State University in Savannah is the site on Monday for a hearing conducted by the Georgia House and Senate Study Committees on the Preservation of the HOPE Scholarship Program. Speakers already listed on the published agenda range from nationally-known casino company representatives to conservative Christian leaders and clergymen.
Opening remarks by the House committee chairman Matt Ramsey, R-Peachtree City, and Senate committee chairman Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, come in the aftermath of criticism for casino giant MGM sending corporate checks to the re-election coffers of key General Assembly lawmakers. That company has been in the forefront of pushing for passage of a constitutional amendment that ultimately could lead to the legalization of casinos subject to local voter approval. The study committee will be weighing the potential for casino and perhaps other gaming revenue to help augment the lottery-funded HOPE Scholarship, which has been curtailed in recent years because of rising college tuition and enrollment.
Scheduled to speak are James Gagliano of the Jockey Club, a major horse industry player; Mike Pollock, the managing director of the Spectrum Gaming group; John Kindt, an author and University of Illinois professor of academic studies on lotteries and casinos; Keith Smith of Boyd Gaming; Jay Doris, president and CEO of PCI Gaming; Arthur Mothershed, vice president of business development of Wind Creek Hospitality; Jim Allen, CEO of Hard Rock International; and Kevin Mullally, vice president of government relations and general counsel for Gaming Laboratories International. No one from the Georgia Lottery is scheduled to speak at this time nor is MGM, although InsiderAdvantage is told that other casino operators may be included on the speaker list.
Opponents of any expansion of gambling in Georgia who are scheduled to testify include lobbyist Mike Griffin of the Georgia Baptist Convention; Tanya Ditty of the conservative Concerned Women of America; longtime activist Virginia Galloway of the Georgia-based Faith and Freedom Coalition founded by politico Ralph Reed; the Rev. Tommy East of Bible Baptist Church in Savannah, who is a member of the anti-gambling Citizen Impact organization; and the Rev. Dale Montgomery of the Savannah River Baptist Church-Port Wentworth, also a member of Citizen Impact.
