Students urge lawmakers to clear way for state lottery

By Cy Ryan

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 | 8:16 p.m.

CARSON CITY — Three high school students in Las Vegas on Tuesday urged a Senate committee to approve a constitutional amendment that would open the door for a state lottery to help finance education.

“It would be ironic to vote against the children,” said student Daniel Waqar, who suggested a lottery would bring in between $40 million and $70 million. “More funding for Nevada education is paramount.”

The proposed constitutional amendment was supported by speakers in Las Vegas but opposed by representatives of conservative groups in Carson City.

No one from the casino industry spoke at the hearing. The gambling industry in the past has opposed the bill.

Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections, said he did not know how the committee would vote. He has voted for a constitutional amendment in the past but said a lottery is not without problems.

In New Hampshire, where he was raised, Parks said, the lottery failed to bring in the money predicted for education.

The resolution, SJR-1, would have to be passed by this session of the Legislature and then again in 2013 and then be approved by the voters. Then the 2015 Legislature would have to decide if it wanted to start the lottery.

Waqar, Zhan Okuda-Lim and Nichole Kereszt all spoke in favor of the lottery, as did two other speakers.

Kereszt said it is important to help schools facing larger class sizes and lack of equipment.

Okodar-Utam said a lottery would not solve all of Nevada’s economic problems, but he urged the committee to remove the roadblock in the Constitution that prohibits a lottery.

John Wagner of the Independent American Party opposed the resolution, suggesting it wouldn’t raise the amount of money predicted. He said residents of California, Idaho, Oregon or Arizona would not come to Nevada to buy lottery tickets.

But Parks said $54 million would be raised if each of Nevada’s 2.7 million residents bought $20 worth of tickets. He said he may have another hearing and a committee vote would be taken before the deadline of April 14.

Wagner said the state should not compete with private casinos. Also testifying against the bill were Lynn Chapman of Nevada Families and Janine Hansen of the Nevada Eagle Forum.

During the hearing, Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, got a plug in for higher taxes. He said Nevada was only one of five states without a corporate income tax.

CORRECTION: The spelling of Zhan Okuda-Lim's name has been corrected. | (March 30, 2011)