Lifting lottery ban a winner, voters say
Posted on Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Arkansas voters on Tuesday opened their state to Arkansas lotteries, banned by the state’s constitutions since 1836.
They also OK’d measures requiring annual legislation sessions, allowing the Natural Resources Commission to issue $ 300 million in bonds, allowing the General Assembly to decide who will be election officials, and striking “insane” from the Constitution.
Proposed Constitutional Amendment 3, authorizing the General Assembly to establish lotteries to finance college scholarships, gained approval despite opponents’ claim that it could lead to casinos, an assertion amendment backers disputed.
With votes counted in 2, 177 of the 2, 588 precincts, the unofficial tally from The Associated Press was: For.................................. 562, 268 Against........................... 330, 216
Voter approval of the amendment “shifts the debate from the ballot box to the Legislature,” said Jerry Cox, president of the Arkansas Family Council Action Committee, which fought the amendment.
Scott Trotter, co-chairman of United Methodists Against Gambling, and Cox said they intend to lobby lawmakers next year to not enact lotteries and to refer to the 2010 election a proposed constitutional amendment to forbid casinos in Arkansas.
Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, who proposed the lottery amendment, said he hopes the voters’ support for the amendment will propel legislation authorizing lotteries through the General Assembly.
He declined to comment about an amendment to bar casinos.
Legislative leaders said this week that they expect lawmakers will enact a lottery to abide by voters’ wishes.
Forty-two states already have lotteries, and many Arkansans play lottery games, crossing borders to buy tickets in five neighboring states.
The amendment changes the current constitution, adopted in 1874, which in Article 19, Section 14 says, “No lottery shall be authorized by this state, nor shall the sale of lottery tickets be allowed.” Similar provisions were in the constitutions of 1868, 1864 and 1836, the year Arkansas originally joined the Union.
The amendment will take effect 30 days after the election under Article 5, Section 1 of the Constitution.
The change appears to leave a lottery ban in place except for the lotteries the amendment allows the General Assembly to create.
Though it doesn’t mention casinos, opponents contended the amendment’s lack of a definition of “lottery” means the Legislature could create casinos under the label of “lottery.” Amendment backers disagreed, pointing out that none of the constitutions ever defined “lottery” and contending that Arkansans wouldn’t permit lawmakers to allow casinos.
The main lottery proponent is Halter. He proposed it, got the proposal drafted, organized a committee to circulate a petition for it and helped raise about $ 757, 000 that paid for the collection of more than 91, 000 signatures to get the proposal on the ballot, and he appeared in ads promoting the amendment.
Halter said Arkansas voters signaled “with a very loud voice” their support for the scholarship plan to make college more accessible and more affordable.
The leading lottery opponent is Cox of Little Rock, whose Family Council Action Committee unsuccessfully asked the state Supreme Court to strike the measure from the ballot because of the lack of a definition of “lottery” and for other reasons.
The court characterized the argument that a “casino” might turn out to be a “lottery” as speculative but did nothing to clear up the matter.
Cox said Tuesday night it was difficult to run against the words “lottery” and “college scholarships.”
“It sounded too good to voters,” he said. “It’s like lottery to feed the hungry... We respect the voters, but we still disagree with a lottery because it is a bad idea.”
Halter has estimated that the Arkansas lotteries will result in $ 100 million a year for scholarships, though others, including the state Department of Finance and Administration, figure it will be more like $ 60 million.
In the TV ads, Halter followed his $ 100 million prediction with the declaration “And no casinos.”
Past Arkansas lottery proposals failed in elections, defeats widely attributed to their casino provisions.
A 1996 measure, which also would have allowed Hot Springs voters to authorize casino gambling, was pummeled 523, 986 to 333, 297. In 2000, a proposal to allow a private corporation to operate six casinos was rejected 544, 550 to 309, 482.
This year’s amendment says lottery proceeds are to be used solely to pay operating expenses of lotteries, including all prizes, and to provide for scholarships and grants to Arkansans in public and private nonprofit two-year and four-year colleges and universities in the state. The General Assembly also would decide the criteria that would determine who can qualify for scholarships.
The money in support of the amendment was contributed to the Hope for Arkansas committee, bankrolled largely by the family of Little Rock property manager John Bailey. The contribution amounted to $ 600, 000 of the committee’s $ 757, 917.
Yet to be determined are such things as the size of the prizes, how often to award prizes, the price of the lottery tickets, whether Arkansas will join other states in joint lottery games, what share — if any — retailers will get from their sale of lottery tickets, and when the lottery will begin.
Halter said he proposed the lottery partly to help more Arkansans get a college education. A lack of college degrees hurts the state’s efforts to attract better-paying jobs, he maintained. Arkansas, with 19. 3 percent, ranks ahead of only Mississippi and West Virginia in the percentage of the adult population holding at least a bachelor’s degree, according to 2007 U. S. Census data.
The odds of winning lottery games vary widely, according to the Arkansas Policy Foundation. The odds of winning Tennessee’s Lotto Plus, in which players select six numbers from 1 to 44, are 1 in 39, according to the lottery’s Web site. The chance of winning $ 3 by matching three of six winning numbers is 1 in 42, and the chance of wining the jackpot by matching all six winning numbers is 1 in 7, 059, 052.
Arkansas already allows some gambling. Wagering is permitted on dog racing at Southland Park in West Memphis and on thoroughbred races at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs. The state also allows gambling at the tracks on electronic devices that mimic casino games but are dubbed “games of skill” in the law that authorizes them. Here’s what happened with three proposals on Arkansas ’ ballot:
AMENDMENT 1 Proposed Constitutional Amendment 1 would drop the words “idiot” and “insane” from the Constitution and allow the General Assembly to decide who could be an election official. The incomplete, unofficial count on this amendment was: For..................... 586, 214 Against................ 216, 042 Article 3, Section 5 of the state Constitution says, “No idiot or insane person shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector.” Advocates for the mentally ill and mentally disabled said such terms are offensive. Amendment 51 allows a court to cancel the registration of voters a judge determines to be incompetent. The proposed amendment also would erase language outdated by federal Amendment 26, which lowered the legal voting age to 18, and federal Amendment 24, which banned poll taxes.
AMENDMENT 2 Proposed Amendment 2 would require the General Assembly to meet each year. The AP’s unfinished tally was: For..................... 541, 624 Against................ 239, 913 Article 5, Section 5 of the Constitution requires the General Assembly to meet in regular session every other year. The proposed amendment would require it to meet in even-numbered years, starting in 2010, to consider appropriation bills. Foes said annual sessions would lead to more government spending. Proponents said annual sessions would lead to better oversight of the budget and less spending.
REFERRED QUESTION 1 This act would give the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission authority to issue up to $ 300 million in taxpayer-backed bonds for water and sewer projects. The unofficial, incomplete count: For..................... 512, 576 Against................ 267, 332 The bonds were for a program that’s been in place since 1998 to help communities finance water and sewer projects. The Legislature referred the measure to the ballot because the bonds would be a general obligation of the state, and state constitutional Amendment 20 prohibits such bonds unless voters approve them.
Several environmental groups said the proposal would provide more funds to the Grand Prairie Irrigation Project.
Commission Executive Director Randy Young said there’s enough money left from $ 300 million in bonds authorized in 1998 for the project.
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