Legislators in California are reportedly set to begin considering a measure later this month that could eventually lead to the western state legalizing sportsbetting via the passage of a local constitutional amendment.

According to a Friday report from LegalSportsReport.com, members of the Democratic-controlled California State Senate have set a tentative November 20 start date for a series of hearings into Senate Constitutional Amendment 6. This examination is to purportedly involve testimony from numerous sportsbetting experts and stakeholders that could possibly conclude with the 40-member body deciding whether to hold an official ballot on the measure.

Electorate opportunity:

Should this effort prove successful, the legislation would reportedly then sent to the 80-seat California State Assembly although supermajority approval from both chambers would be required in order to put the proposed constitutional amendment before voters as part of the elections scheduled for November of 2020.

Simple supplement:

LegalSportsReport.com reported that Senate Constitutional Amendment 6 is the brainchild of California State Senator Bill Dodd working in partnership with California State Assemblyman, Adam Gray, and that its passage by the electorate would see a single line added into the state’s existing constitution allowing the jurisdiction to ‘authorize and provide for the regulation of sports wagering.’

Aboriginal antagonism:

However, the proposed legislation may face a considerable amount of opposition from some of California’s casino-operating tribes over concerns that the legalization of sportsbetting could hurt their own revenues. These federally-recognized groups have purportedly inked a series of gaming compacts that give them exclusivity over the provision of certain forms of house-banked gambling such as blackjack, craps and roulette and the passage of Senate Constitutional Amendment 6 could eventually lead to a series contentious legal battles.

Foremost focus:

But, 63-year-old Dodd reportedly told local television broadcaster KTXL-TV that he is currently concentrating his efforts on the voting public and hopes that the tribes will eventually decide to eschew lengthy legal proceedings in order to help come to an amicable arrangement.

Dodd told the Sacramento-based broadcaster…

“We want to get an initiative on the ballot that the voters can understand [and] that’s easy to understand and perhaps in the process maybe bring all the gambling institutions [such as] card rooms, horseracing and tribal casinos all together.”