COLUMBIA -- Despite giving key approval to a bill legalizing charitable raffles, the Senate next week will return to the issue, and the stakes will grow.
That's because the Senate must still vote on a constitutional amendment that triggers the law, which passed 18-14 on second reading Thursday. Any vote on a constitutional amendment requires at least 30 votes instead of a simple majority.
"I think we have a pretty good chance of stopping it at that point," said Sen. David Thomas, a Fountain Inn Republican and opponent of the bill.
The vote on raffles Thursday afternoon came after two failed attempts at a compromise, after the chamber grew weary of a filibuster by Thomas, who had filed 142 amendments to the bill. The Senate has spent more than a week debating the issue.
It took hours more of debate and filibuster before the Senate agreed on legislation. Several of the bill's opponents said they wanted to make sure the bill did not legalize casinos because people are hoping to build them in the state, particularly in the Myrtle Beach area.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Ray Cleary of Murrells Inlet, would legalize charitable raffles with a number of protections aimed at keeping the games from attracting professional gambling.
Charities would have to be in operation for at least five years to operate a raffle, "casino" night games would only be for entertainment, and prizes would be capped at $40,000 under the legislation.
The legislation would expire in five years unless it is reauthorized by legislators.
Thomas' aim was to remove a provision allowing charities to operate casino nights with players winning chances at a raffle. Opponents argued the games might open the door to professional gambling interests. Proponents denied that and said players would only win a chance at a raffle prize.
Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell of Charleston, who has pushed for years to legalize charitable raffles, voted for the final bill but against the compromise because of the regulations he said were onerous and an intrusion of personal freedoms.
He railed against what he said was another example of the "nanny state" protecting people from themselves.
"Why do you think it's your business if I want to buy a raffle ticket?" he asked the Senate.
If the Senate passes the constitutional amendment, the two bills must then go to the House. Voters must approve the constitutional amendment before the law can be triggered. The earliest it would go into effect is December 2012.
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