Legislature approves lottery setup: First tickets should be sold early next year
NASHVILLE — Two decades of work finally bore fruit Thursday when the Legislature voted to establish a lottery in Tennessee.
Senate sponsor Steve Cohen began his campaign for the games 19 years ago, and pushed until voters got a chance to decide whether they wanted a lottery or not. Tennesseans voted overwhelmingly last year to lift a constitutional ban against it.
Since then he has worked and watched — sometimes patiently, sometimes not — as the General Assembly worked to fulfill that mandate by developing a lottery to fund college scholarships.
After a joint conference committee resolved differences between the two houses Thursday, the Senate approved the compromise bill 27-6 and the House followed suit 73-23 before both chambers adjourned for the year.
The votes came as a relief to the outspoken Democrat from Memphis.
‘It’s been a ride, an interesting experience. I don’t know if I’d recommend it, but I enjoyed it, and I’ll enjoy seeing people buy lottery tickets and see scholarships handed out,’ Cohen said. ‘I’ll know my 20 years spent here are worthwhile if this makes a difference in anybody’s life in any way.’
The House vote sent the bill to Gov. Phil Bredesen for his consideration. He was expected to sign it. Sponsors said they believed the first lottery tickets would be sold early next year.
‘I believe the will of the people has been ratified,’ said House sponsor Rep. Chris Newton, R-Benton. ‘From a personal standpoint I feel relief that this has finally come to fruition. And if we’re able by virtue of these scholarships to affect one individual who otherwise would not have the financial means to go to college, then I think we’ve done our jobs and I’ll be personally satisfied.’
The education portion of the lottery package, which details eligibility and distribution of the lottery scholarships, was approved and sent to Bredesen’s desk last week.
The final votes came a few hours after Cohen and Bredesen compromised on the makeup of the board of directors for the lottery corporation that will run the games — the final, and most divisive, difference between the chambers’ two versions of the bill.
Cohen originally wanted the board to be controlled by legislative appointees, while Bredesen’s administration and the House wanted the governor to have more say.
But after his meeting with Bredesen, Cohen changed his mind.
‘I have great confidence the governor will appoint seven men and women of capability, accomplishment and integrity who will work as a cohesive force and who will work quickly … to see the lottery implemented as soon as possible and in the best way,’ Cohen told his colleagues in suggesting a seven-member board appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature.
The legislation requires board members to be appointed by July 1, but they would not be confirmed until the Legislature returns to Nashville in January.
‘I had never asked for any appointees to the lottery corporation board, so it did not bother me to have all seven appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature,’ said House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, who would have had three appointments under Cohen’s original plan. ‘I think that’s probably a wise way to do it.’
Sen. Bill Clabough, a member of the conference committee, was among about half a dozen senators who congratulated Cohen on the floor for his dedication to the legislation.
‘It was a hard, tedious task and our (conference committee) chairman stuck in there and fought for a good piece of legislation that will help the students of Tennessee,’ Clabough said.
Bredesen said after the session that he had not yet given thought to who he would appoint to the board, but would look for the ‘right kind of expertise to manage the lottery, and a board that reflects the diversity of this state.’
Among the other provisions in the bill is one calling for the state Funding Board to estimate lottery revenue each year and for the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation — which will distribute the scholarships — to estimate the awards’ cost based on the previous year.
The board and TSAC would then report their findings to the governor, who would submit his recommendation to the Legislature in his proposed budget. Lawmakers would then have the authority to approve, modify or vote down the plan. That means the value of the scholarships could vary year-to-year, depending on those estimates and the amount of money generated by the lottery.
The bill also calls for a procurement panel to review major lottery contracts, a new advisory council on minority business participation and a review by the state Board of Standards of procurement contract policies.
In addition, the lottery’s first chief executive must have management experience in a state lottery, and cannot contribute to gubernatorial or legislative campaigns.
‘Once (the lottery) gets started, it’s going to do gangbusters,’ Cohen said. ‘People won’t be going to Kentucky or Georgia to buy tickets.
‘We’re going to have plenty of money, lots of scholarships, education and afterschool programs.’
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The bill is SB0001/HB0001.
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On the Net:
Tennessee General Assembly: www.legislature.state.tn.us