State lottery expanding

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Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2003 | 9:54 a.m.

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Lawmakers appear to be moving quickly toward expanding the state lottery so it can offer a multistate game such as Powerball as early as this summer.

The House Ways and Means Committee took testimony Tuesday and Chairman Richard Marron, R-Stowe, said the language that would authorize a lottery expansion might be included in the so-called budget adjustment bill.

That's the annual legislation that redirects state spending midway through the year, which typically passes and is signed into law early in the year.

Discussion about the lottery around the Statehouse this year is much different than in recent legislative sessions. It's no longer a question about if the state will join a multistate game, it's more about when and which one.

"Historically, when states tried to put lotteries in place there was a moral, Protestant ethic that this was not good," Marron said. "I don't think that's an issue anymore. The fact is we are gambling."