On Monday, the Arkansas Legislature convened for the very first fiscal session.
I have to say it was a rather interesting week. The first day of a legislative session is a lot like the first day of school: Everyone is happy to see each other, and not a whole lot of homework gets handed out. Nevertheless, a few interesting things did happen this week, and here they are:
The Oversight Committee for the Lottery decided not to pursue legislation that would make the Lottery Commission a full fledged law enforcement agency.
For some reason, the folks down at the Lottery Commission decided they needed law enforcement powers. After a couple of meetings with legislators, however, the Lottery Oversight Committee decided not to recommend any legislation that would give them that power.
Now, another lawmaker could decide to pick up this legislation and run with it next week or the week after, but for now, the lottery’s oversight committee seems to have no intention of supporting any legislation that would make the Arkansas Lottery Commission a law enforcement agency.
Lawmakers confirmed that the Lottery Commission plans to roll out Lottery Vending Machines sometime this spring.
I had a chance to talk to a couple of lawmakers about the possibility of “lottery vending machines” popping up in Arkansas this spring. I am told that the commission is currently planning to bring 100 such machines to the state. These are, essentially, vending machines that sell lottery tickets instead of food or drinks.
We released a 3-minute video about lottery vending machines yesterday. You can watch it here: http://familycouncil.org/?p=831
Lawmakers began approving budget appropriations.
Amid all the talk about the lottery—and the non-fiscal, lottery bill that’s in the works—lawmakers also did what they said they would do: Began approving budget items for the coming year. So far, none of the program-funding they’ve allocated has given us any cause for concern, but we will notify you if that changes.
Look for more updates in the coming weeks, as the 2010 Legislative Session progresses.
