Okla. lottery plan heading to voters

Tim Talley

Thursday, April 3, 2003 | 9:57 a.m.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A statewide lottery plan is headed to a vote of the people after narrow approval in the Oklahoma House.

Opponents promise to keep fighting against the measure, which has stirred passionate debate in the House during the past month.

"The lottery isn't a good way to fund education. It doesn't make sense," said Ray Sanders, spokesman for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.

The lottery, the focal point of Gov. Brad Henry's legislative program to raise new revenue for public schools, passed 52-49 Wednesday. Henry wants a vote this summer.

Passage by the people, the governor said, "will give Oklahoma one more tool in the ongoing effort to build the best public school system in the country."

"The education lottery isn't the magic bullet that will solve all of our revenue challenges, but it will help generate some much-needed funding for our schools," Henry said.

He has said the lottery could raise up to _$300 million a year, but supporters said language that bans the most popular lottery game, video lottery terminals, will reduce revenue.

Rep. Wayne Pettigrew, R-Edmond, said revenue available for education probably will be closer to $100 million.

Opponents, including religious groups, fought the lottery on moral grounds and said they will form a coalition of religious, business and education groups to urge voters to defeat it.

Rep. Forrest Claunch said the lottery "is a bad issue. It will harm Oklahoma."

Claunch, R-Midwest City and one of the measure's staunchest opponents, said sanctioning a state-run lottery will transform the role of government from protector and provider to predator.

"For me, it is a moral issue," he said. "There is no good lottery."

Rep. Leonard Sullivan, R-Oklahoma City, said a lottery is "a despicable thing" that can destroy families.

"We have a family culture here in Oklahoma and we need to preserve it," said Rep. John Wright, R-Broken Arrow.

Said Rep. Odilia Dank, R-Oklahoma City: "Oklahoma will look like a penny-arcade state."

The bill sets aside 45 percent of net lottery proceeds for public schools and 45 percent for higher education scholarships and other programs.

It calls for 5 percent to go to a fund to encourage school consolidation and 5 percent to go to the Oklahoma Teacher Retirement System.

The proposal contains language to prevent the sale of lottery tickets to minors and earmarks $500,000 a year for programs to combat compulsive gambling.

The measure's author, Rep. Ron Kirby, D-Lawton, said opponents base their stand on "what if" scenarios that are not likely.

"What ifs doesn't work. What if frogs wore guns? Snakes would quit messing with them," Kirby said.

Some supporters said they are personally opposed to a lottery but believe the public has a right to vote on it.

"I don't favor a lottery and I will vote no when it goes to a vote of the people," said Pettigrew, who voted for it.

"I think the lottery is a tax on the poor. But folks have a right to vote on it," said Rep. Dan Boren, D-Seminole.

Boren also bemoaned the amount of time that the Legislature has spent on the lottery since convening Feb. 3.

"It's an embarrassment. We're not doing our jobs," he said.

The House has voted on the lottery bill three times, first defeating it 52-49 on March 5. A week later, following intense lobbying by Henry and other supporters, the House reconsidered its vote and passed the measure 52-49.

The bill was heavily amended before it was approved in the Senate last week by a 26-19 vote. The House voted 51-50 to accept the Senate amendments.

The House must still vote on a trailer bill to create a constitutional amendment to dedicate lottery revenue to education.

The bill now goes to Henry's office, where it will become law in five days. Henry will then forward it to the secretary of state before he sets an election date.