Hobbs studying lottery implementation, other legislative issues
Posted on Monday, January 5, 2009
ROGERS - State Representative-elect Debra Hobbs, R-Rogers, said Friday she's preparing herself to be a state lawmaker.
The state legislative session begins at noon Jan. 12 in Little Rock.
Headed to Little Rock next week for more preparation before the state legislative session begins, she's already heard from some of her soon-to-be constituents, met with people in the Capitol who will be drafting bills she has in mind, and reviewed information she'd been provided by the state about implementing the new state lottery, Hobbs said.
"It's some research that they have done on how other lottery scholarship programs are conducted. So that's basically all we have right now," she said.
Hobbs and other state lawmakers are charged under a new amendment to the state constitution with setting up a state lottery, proceeds from will provide the state with a new source to fund education. Lottery implementation is a big issue facing state lawmakers.
"I think people pretty much know this is a big issue that needs to be worked out before other things are addressed," she said.
She hasn't yet made many decisions about how she thinks the key questions of implementation - including exactly how the money should be spent to fund education, and how people would participate in the lottery - should be resolved, Hobbs said.
It makes some sense to consider putting responsibility for the new lottery under the existing Arkansas State Racing Commission, which already regulates thoroughbred and greyhound racing in Arkansas, that to avoid creating any new bureaucracy. But she'd like to look harder that that proposal before deciding whether to support it, she said.
The Arkansas State Racing Commission is under the state Department of Finance and Administration, a state Web site says.
Hobbs also has a list of ideas for new state laws. Among other things, she wants to make the state's process for assessing personal property more simple and more inexpensive by having people pay their personal property tax as part of the vehicle license plate fee; allow 501C-3 organizations not to pay sales taxes on purchases in the state; and to give local public school districts some flexibility, allowing them to start the school year a little earlier than the currently required Aug. 19 date.
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