Official chosen to lead panel on education lottery bill

Tuesday, March 29, 2005 | 9:35 a.m.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- House Speaker Jim Black chose his top lieutenant Monday to lead a special committee whose mission is to fashion an education lottery bill on which the full chamber can vote.

Rep. Bill Culpepper, chairman of the House Rules Committee, will also chair the 14-member House Select Committee on the Lottery, which will meet for the first time this afternoon.

Black won't serve on the committee but hand-picked its members. They will examine three lottery bills introduced this year in the House before generating their recommendations.

Black, D-Mecklenburg, and Culpepper said a floor vote could be held next week, although the panel has until April 11 to file a report.

Even lottery supporters have acknowledged there are only about 50 votes in the House right now to pass a bill with no statewide referendum attached -- not the 61 needed. But that could change.

"I think it's close. I think it's closer that some of the numbers I've seen," said Culpepper, D-Chowan.

The panel is comprised of 10 Democrats and four Republicans. One GOP member, Rep. Wilma Sherrill of Buncombe County, voted in 2002 for an advisory referendum on the lottery. Two others -- Reps. Robert Grady of Onslow County and Roger West of Cherokee County voted against it.

West was noncommittal on his lottery views Monday night.

"I can live with it. I can live without it," said Rep. Roger West, R-Cherokee, whose district touches Georgia and Tennessee, both lottery states.

Black, D-Mecklenburg, said he believes all of them -- including West -- now will support a lottery.

"He's close to the (state) line," said Black, an ardent lottery supporter after years of being lukewarm on the issue. "He's seen (lottery) money being sent out of the state."

North Carolina is the only state on the East Coast without a lottery. Black is interested in generating revenues for education initiatives, including class-size reduction, school construction and alternate school programs for troubled kids.

Gov. Mike Easley, a fellow Democrat who made an education lottery a campaign pillar, estimates a game could bring in _$450 million to _$500 million a year.

West said he's pleased that Black wants a straight up-or-down vote on creating a lottery, rather than a referendum, which wouldn't be binding on legislators. A referendum has given some undecideds political cover in the past so they could defer to state voters.

"If you don't got the guts to be here, don't be here," he said.

Four vice chairmen on the committee include three members who have filed lottery bills: Reps. Bernard Allen, D-Wake; Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson; and Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank. The other vice chairman is Rep. Stephen LaRoque, R-Lenoir.

Other members include Democratic Reps. Becky Carney of Mecklenburg County, Margaret Dickson of Cumberland County, Pryor Gibson of Anson County, Russell Tucker of Duplin County, Arthur Williams of Beaufort County and Doug Yongue of Scotland County.

Six of the 10 Democrats were in the chamber in 2002. They all voted for the lottery referendum.

The Rev. Mark Creech with the Christian Action League of North Carolina, a lottery opponent, said league affiliates are being asked to contact to legislator, urging them to oppose a lottery.

"We feel confident, but anyone who knows the political process know that is fraught with change," Creech said. "Anything can happen." _centerline(PROFILE _centerline(COUNTRY:United Kingdom; ISOCOUNTRY3:GBR; UNTOP:150; UN2ND:154; APGROUP:Europe;) _centerline(COUNTRY:United States; ISOCOUNTRY3:USA; UNTOP:021; APGROUP:NorthAmerica;) _centerline(CAT:Political;) _centerline(CAT:Business;) _centerline(CAT:Municipal;) _centerline(CAT:Legislative;) _centerline(CAT:Gambling;) _centerline(CAT:BlackNews;) _centerline(SRC:AP; ST:SC;) _centerline)