Lottery bill may have tougher time in Senate than in House

Kirsten Searer

Wednesday, March 9, 2005 | 10:51 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A proposal to create a state lottery cleared the Assembly relatively easily this week, but odds are that it will have a more difficult time in the Republican-controlled Senate.

On paper, it seems like a lottery -- which has been banned since Nevada became a state -- has a good chance of passing the Senate.

Several of the Senate's top Republican leaders signed on to support the original bill. And on Tuesday, the Senate decided that one of the bill's co-sponsors, Sen. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, will hear the bill in his Judiciary Committee. The bill could have ended up in the Government Affairs Committee, which is headed by Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Las Vegas, a lottery opponent.

But the idea is hardly out of the woods yet. Several of the Republican co-signers said Tuesday that they have concerns about a lottery, and Hardy joked that the odds of the lottery making it through the Senate are "about as good as hitting the lottery."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, co-signed the idea but said he is worried that the money people would use to play the lottery would come from the amount people would typically spend on retail sales.

"I signed on because I said, OK let's have it heard, let's have a hearing, and if it survives than it can go on the ballot let the people vote on it," he said. "But I want them all to know the pros and cons of this. So at this point in time I'm not committed to it."

Another major Republican co-signer, Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, said he likes the idea of dedicating a fund for education but has concerns that a disproportionate amount of poor people will play the lottery.

"I'm not one of the guys buying lottery tickets," Townsend said.

Democrats say a lottery could reap between $40 and $70 million a year to go to books, classroom supplies and class size reduction. The idea appeals to Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, who said he plans to push the bill.

Nolan said he had expressed worries in the past that a lottery would pull from gaming revenue, therefore hurting state coffers that rely on gaming taxes. But, he said, he no longer thinks that would happen.

"I think that time has proven out and observation of other states that a state lottery would not affect the state revenues as previously anticipated," Nolan said. "It looks like it's a very viable way to fund some additional educational needs."

The Republican leaders noted that they have not been lobbied by the gaming industry, which has expressed concerns in the past about a lottery.

"Haven't heard a peep -- that's why I'm hopeful," Nolan said.

Bill Bible, head of the Nevada Resort Association, has said that most gaming companies plan to stay out of the issue.

"In the past they've expressed concerns," Raggio said. "This time, I haven't heard anything from them."

Amodei said he will be interested to hear in Judiciary Committee hearings how reliable a lottery would be as a funding source in Nevada, which has competing gaming interests and might not yield as much money as it would in other states.

"If I have any concerns and we'll see what the testimony is, it's the practical ones," he said. "We'll see if it's a viable thing in the state based on what the competition is."

And he said he's interested to talk about earmarking funds for education.

"I think its an issue that has been talked about a lot but it has never actually been through the process in recent times so I think it's a healthy thing to talk about," Amodei said.