Oklahoma's lottery director was given authority Tuesday to hire employees and to move ahead with plans to design and renovate the lottery's offices.

Executive Director Jim Scroggins said he expects to hire about 130 employees, with about 90 to 100 of them assigned to work at the commission's headquarters, 3815 N Santa Fe.

Members of the Oklahoma Lottery Commission voted to give Scroggins authority to hire the employees. Scroggins will report new hires at commission meetings.

Among the first to be hired will be an internal auditor and a director of security, Scroggins said.

Scroggins and his three key assistants — hired earlier this month — work out of a small area of what will become the lottery commission's headquarters in office space at Centennial Business Plaza. Commissioners gave Scroggins permission to move ahead with renovation plans, which include changing the headquarters' main entrance.

No decision was made selecting a financial institution to lend money to pay the lottery's startup costs.

Law firms have until June 24 to submit proposals to serve as the lottery commission's outside legal counsel, Commissioner William Paul of Oklahoma City said.

The legal counsel would take on work when the state attorney general's office was unable to because of lack of staffing or other issues. About 50 law firms have expressed an interest, Paul said.

Scroggins is optimistic that scratch-off tickets, the first type of lottery game to be offered, should be available to Oklahomans in October.