Supporters of legalized sports betting in Louisiana have made a last-ditch effort to get lawmakers to vote on it this session. Republican Sen. Danny Martiny added it as an amendment to the fantasy sports betting bill when it came up on the Senate floor.
Martiny said he didn’t want to take this step, but he said House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry (R-Metairie) is preventing a floor vote in the House on the sports betting bill.
"For the last five days, since we got the votes, the chairman of the committee refuses to go into the room," said Martiny, referring to Rep. Henry's absences from the House chamber whenever a vote on the sports betting bill is brought up. "That’s not the way to legislate, that’s not fair, that’s not what the process is about."
The House Appropriations Committee last week shot down Martiny's sports betting bill. Supporters have been trying to use a legislative procedure to bring the bill to a vote in the House despite it not passing in committed, but it takes the presence of Henry, the chairman of that committee, for a vote to occur.
