Arizona lawmakers vote to extend state lottery

Feb 9, 2010, 8:48 am (3 comments)

Arizona Lottery

You can put money on it: Arizona is likely to have a state lottery for the next 25 years.

The state House of Representatives on Monday voted to create a new lottery that would begin in mid-2012, when the current game expires.

The House support of Senate Bill 1004 follows the approval last week of the state Senate. The bill now goes to Gov. Jan Brewer, whose state budget plan relies on the lottery's continuation.

Lawmakers also sent SB1005 to Brewer, a change in how certain out-of-state tax filers must fill out their forms. The measure, which would collect income taxes from people who work in Arizona and take the standard tax deduction but live out of state, is expected to net the state an extra $22 million, beginning next year.

The House was expected to wrap up its sixth special session Monday. Instead, it delayed action on two bills that would authorize more borrowing to help balance this year's state budget.

House Speaker Kirk Adams, R-Mesa, said the remaining two bills, which would bring $1.2 billion to this year's state budget, are causing some heartburn among lawmakers leery of the state borrowing more.

"It's a lot of debt," he said.

The two measures breezed through the Senate in one day last week.

Despite the concern about debt, SB1003, which would allow the state to borrow against lottery proceeds and call for another sale of state buildings to investors, is scheduled to be debated today in the House. It would raise an estimated $750 million for the state's current-year budget, which has a $1.4 billion deficit.

Left unaddressed by House members is SB1002, which would delay state payments to the K-12 education system and state universities. If approved, it would leave those schools without any state payment for the last three months of their budget year, rolling the final monthly payments of $450 million to the next budget year.

Arizona Republic

Comments

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

I lived in AZ for four years and I couldn't win a nickel from them computers to save my dadgum soul.

The Indian Casino slot machines were bad but the state's lottery computers were worse.

I shook the dust off my boots when I left that state.

tiggs95's avatartiggs95

My sister use to live in Ann Arbor Mi and had some good luck there and even hit a 350.00 cash3 when she sent me some money to play in Ky..She hit on my numbers 472 but she moved to Surpris Az and and can't hit a thing out bthere..She said the lottery out there stinks..They have no drawing on TV at all..

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

Quote: Originally posted by tiggs95 on Feb 9, 2010

My sister use to live in Ann Arbor Mi and had some good luck there and even hit a 350.00 cash3 when she sent me some money to play in Ky..She hit on my numbers 472 but she moved to Surpris Az and and can't hit a thing out bthere..She said the lottery out there stinks..They have no drawing on TV at all..

Yeah tiggs, I was just outside Fort Apache and I even went across the line into New Mexico a few times to change my luck but their computers were just as tight with me.

I moved to AZ to study Wild West History and to be able to visit all the historical sites connected with it there and the state is  great for that but as far as the lottery goes, forget it.

End of comments
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