The Texas Senate has approved a bill that would save the Texas Lottery
DALLAS — The Texas Senate has approved a bill that would save the Texas Lottery but place it under new leadership and add several new restrictions.
State Senator Bob Hall’s, R-Tyler, original legislation would have abolished the lottery altogether. But the Republican pivoted after learning how important the lottery is to the state’s budget and after he couldn’t find the support necessary to completely eliminate the game.
“It brings in about $3 billion, roughly, for the budget. And I was told that we’ve got to have that money to balance the budget. We cannot afford to not continue the lottery. And so, I’m doing the next best thing,” Sen. Hall told us on Inside Texas Politics.
Senator Hall says his new legislation, Senate Bill 3070, which Senators recently passed unanimously, returns the lottery to its roots.
SB 3070 places the Texas Lottery under the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) and abolishes the Texas Lottery Commission, criminalizes online ticket sales, and bans courier services. It also requires the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission to review the lottery in a couple of years to determine whether the game will continue.
Sen. Hall thinks SB 3070 will pass the House as well, which has to happen for the lottery to survive.
It is in the midst of a routine review by the Sunset Commission, which means it would shut down unless a bill is passed allowing it to continue. SB 3070 would do that.
The only other option is SB 2402, known as the “sunset bill.” While that legislation would save the Lottery Commission, lawmakers have already zeroed out the Commission’s funding in the next budget, so it would get complicated. And SB 2402 hasn’t even been heard in committee.
“Sunset isn’t to determine if we’re going to terminate an organization. The purpose of sunset is to determine whether they’re going to continue or not. And so, they are going out of business if sunset doesn’t pass, unless there’s something done at the executive level, in an executive order to extend them,” Sen. Hall explained.
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