Oklahoma House OKs bill calling for lottery vote

Tim Talley

Wednesday, March 12, 2003 | 9:33 a.m.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma House reversed itself Tuesday and passed legislation voted down a week ago that asks voters to decide whether a create a statewide lottery to help fund public education.

The measure passed 52-49 after lawmakers agreed to reconsider its defeat. On March 5 House members voted 52-49 against the measure, with most Republicans opposing the bill and most Democrats in support.

The difference Tuesday were three Republicans who changed their mind and voted for the bill -- Reps. Wayne Pettigrew of Edmond, Bill Case of Midwest City and Terry Ingmire of Stillwater.

The measure now goes to the Senate for consideration. Gov. Brad Henry, who has made a statewide lottery the centerpiece of his plan to raise new revenue for public education, said he expects the Senate to approve the bill.

"I am not going to give up on the people's right to vote on a lottery," Henry said. "I'm going to fight 'til the bitter end. It's time that we did something big for education."

Senate President Pro Tem Cal Hobson said he was pleased with the House vote.

"We look forward to working with the governor on refining the legislation and working toward passage of the best possible lottery proposal to put before voters of this state," he said.

Henry said he has agreed to amendments that will be proposed in the Senate to tighten language setting a minimum percentage of lottery revenue that will go to education, prohibit minors from having access to lottery tickets and prohibit the expansion of casino-style gaming.

The House passed the measure after rejecting a request to amend the bill before it was sent to the Senate.

Henry pushed for an education lottery during his campaign and has said it would raise up to $300 million a year for education and help fill budget cuts caused by a $677 million statewide budget shortfall.

But House opponents questioned whether a lottery would raise as much as Henry claimed.

"We're being misled about the $300 million," Rep. Hopper Smith, R-Tulsa, said. Supporters said fiscal statements indicate the lottery will raise between $90 million and $150 million for education.

Others said they opposed the lottery on moral grounds.

"A lottery is a tax on poverty and ignorance," Rep. Leonard Sullivan, R-Oklahoma City, said.

Rep. Odilia Dank, R-Oklahoma City, said the measure would authorize video lottery games that would transform Oklahoma into "a penny arcade state." Video lotteries account for 90 percent of lottery revenue in Oregon and South Dakota, Dank said.

"It's a fool's game," Rep. Frank Davis, R-Guthrie, said. He compared lawmakers who switched their votes to the main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel "The Scarlet Letter," who wore the letter "A" on her clothes to represent the word adulteress.

"You will ever wear the letters 'FS,' and that stands for 'For Sale,' " Davis said.

Rep. Forrest Claunch, R-Midwest City, said, "You're pimping for the lottery. You're going to create as a state people with addictive behavior."

The bill's author, Rep. Ron Kirby, D-Lawton, said lawmakers are also considering legislation to authorize churches and schools to conduct charitable raffles similar to lotteries.

"I personally don't think they're on a rocket sled to hell," Kirby said. "Let's send it to a vote of the people. It's about the right of the people to decide."

Carolyn Crowder, president of the Oklahoma Education Association, said her organization was pleased the lottery plan finally passed the House.

"What we saw today was a chance for some long-term funding," Crowder said. She said solutions still need to be found for funding shortfalls next year.

Church groups, including the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, heavily opposed the measure and expressed disappointment at its passage.

"What we've seen here today is a House divided," said the Rev. Ray Sanders, spokesman for the Baptist General Convention. "It passed on very narrow support."

Sanders said no faith-based group in the state supports creation of a lottery. Church groups oppose a lottery on moral grounds and believe it could lead to a variety of social and economic ills, including increases in bankruptcy, gambling additions and divorce.

Newspaper columnists and editorials have expressed support for sending the lottery to a vote of the people.

A full-page advertisement urging lawmakers to "Let the People Vote" on the lottery appeared in The Daily Oklahoman on Monday. The ad was paid for by Edward L. Gregory and family, who identified themselves as Republicans, and Edco Plumbing Co.

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