Two Henry County jurisdictions have voiced their support for giving the voters a chance to approve or reject casino gambling, but that doesn’t mean a vote is right around the corner.

  During discussions at the January 21 regular meeting of the Henry County Board of Commissioners, Dee Clemmons wanted language added to the resolution under consideration that would specify the state’s involvement in the matter. County attorney Patrick Jaugstetter took the opportunity to point out that such involvement is necessary before the county can do anything.

  “The county lacks the authority to call for a referendum on gambling just within the county,” he said.

  A referendum is being discussed on a state level right now and it would likely be a statewide vote on a possible amendment to the Georgia Constitution that allows casino gambling. If that were to pass, according to Jaugstetter, the legislature would then have to pass laws governing casino gambling, and those laws would almost certainly require local referendums to take place prior to any municipality allowing it.

  “The way I read this resolution [the one the commissioners were considering], it is urging the legislative delegation to support placing a statewide referendum for a constitutional amendment, because that is all you can do right now,” he said.

  Clemmons reiterated her stance that the language be included in the resolution, and Jaugstetter agreed that was a good idea.

  “The resolution should support a statewide referendum on casino gambling so the citizens of Henry County and the rest of Georgia would be allowed to vote their desires on the issue,” he said.

  Clemmons said she wanted this done in case the issue wound up on the primary ballot, but Jaugstetter said that was virtually impossible this year because of the time required to actually prepare the ballots.

  “If the current proposal or another one gets through this session of the General Assembly, my guess is that it would be on the November ballot,” he said. “But that is only a guess.”

  The resolution ultimately passed 5-0, with Vivian Thomas absent from the meeting.

  This action came one week after the Hampton City Council approved a similar resolution. Both votes were spurred by a meeting conducted January 9 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to discuss the possibility of a casino resort being developed there. Among those in attendance were members of the House Special Committee on Economic Growth, who recommended that the resolutions be considered, according to county officials.