MONTGOMERY (AP) — Lottery legislation moves to a House of Representatives committee where it faces a ticking clock if lawmakers want to get the proposal before voters on the Nov. 8 election.

The House Economic Development and Tourism Committee will hold a public hearing Tuesday afternoon on the Senate-passed proposal to establish a state lottery.

Sen. Jim McClendon, the bill’s sponsor, said he hopes the committee will quickly approve the bill so it can get a House vote Wednesday. Lawmakers must give final approval to the legislation by the end of Wednesday to put the lottery on the Nov. 8 ballot.

“Let the people decide if they want a lottery in Alabama,” said McClendon, R-Springville.

Gov. Robert Bentley is seeking the first statewide vote on a lottery since 1999, when voters rejected a lottery proposed by then-Gov. Don Siegelman to fund education. Alabama is one of six states — along with Mississippi, Utah, Alaska, Hawaii and Nevada — without a state lottery.

Senators approved the lottery bill Friday on a 21-12 vote.

The bill cleared the Senate without a protracted fight after a number of amendments. However, it could get lengthier debate in the 105-seat House of Representatives where lawmakers hold a variety of views on gambling and what to do with any lottery proceeds.

The bill backed by Bentley is the centerpiece of a special session on funding for the state’s perpetually cash-strapped Medicaid program. The Senate-passed lottery bill would steer all proceeds to the state’s general fund, with the first $100 million going specifically to Medicaid.

The bill before House members does not include a provision for education funding that senators thought they approved.

Senators on Friday approved an amendment to steer 10 percent of lottery proceeds to education programs, but that provision appears to have been deleted by a later amendment.

McClendon said it was the intent of senators for that money to go to education.

It will take 63 votes in the 105-seat House to approve the proposed change to the Alabama Constitution to allow gambling. A majority of voters must also approve the measure in a referendum.

Rep. Darrio Melton, a Democrat from Selma and a member of the House committee, said he expects a majority of House members favor the idea of a lottery. The disagreement, he said, will be over the details of the proposal.

Melton said he thought that if lottery money is divided for education, it should be divided “equitably.”