Well, that was interesting...
The Texas House reversed itself Tuesday and tentatively passed a bill that allows the Texas Lottery Commission to continue operating for another 12 years.
House Bill 2197 by state Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, passed 92-53.
The vote ended a day of drama in the House that started when lawmakers earlier voted to abolish the lottery commission. The House abruptly broke for lunch after the vote to end the commission, allowing House leaders the time to muster enough support to bring the bill back up to be reconsidered.
The bill still needs to clear a final vote in the House.
In a move that stunned the chamber just before it adjourned for lunch, the House voted 85-61 against a bill that would have continued the Lottery Commission for 12 more years.
"The Lottery Commission is gone," State Rep. Linda Harper Brown, R-Irving, said from the dais.
House Bill 2197 by state Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, was supposed to be a routine sunset measure to allow the commission to continue operating. The bill also expanded and increased the size of the commission from three members to five.
Instead, Democrats and Republicans voiced opposition on moral grounds and voted to kill the commission.
"There were more members than I thought who were against the lottery," Anchia told reporters after the vote.
Some $2.2 billion in lottery sales revenues go toward the Foundation School Fund and another $26 million goes toward veterans, Anchia said.
"There's some significant budgeting impact if the lottery is not continued," Anchia said.
The House broke abruptly for lunch after the vote, with lawmakers still wondering what had just happened. The House is schedule to reconvene at 3 p.m.
Meanwhile, Anchia said some lawmakers will be working during the lunch break to get enough support to have the vote reconsidered on the House floor.
"There's certainly high drama in the House today," Anchia said.
Minutes after the House returned from lunch, Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, gave one hour notice of his intention to make a motion to reconsider the decision to end the Lottery Commission.
MONEY RULES THE WORLD.
I'm glad to see that my threat worked.
Who they think they messin with?
Some amateaur?
I am the Gamblin Queen and I will not be deprived of my GOD given right to toss my money at a fleeting dream.
"DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS"
more like
"DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS' LOTTERY!!"
Nice, obvious corruption. The only way someone would be set to vote one way and then come back after a few hours and change their votes is if palms were greased. Don't get me wrong, I am glad this idiotic vote was changed, but it shows what is wrong with politics today.
TEXAS ROCKS!
The newly formed lobbying group Christ for Bingo and Bouncing Balls performed marvelously.
HALLELUAH!!!
Time to start repacking my bags!
Lets celebrate!
IN GOD WE TRUST.
No No No, just another day in the Texas legislature. Meeting only parttime every other year gets some really interesting actions. There may have been palms greased, but there always is palms greased. State politics, in some ways, is worse than the Feds, and definitely more interesting.
There was a big push from the bible thumpers in East Texas to get the lottery commission dissolved with the Sunset review. They are the same ones who keep casinos out of Texas and sending hundreds of millions to Louisana, Oklahoma, and New Mexico every year. Casino tour busses are big business here.
Either way, we've got lottery until 2025 and we'll do this again in the next Sunset review.
Unpack those bags. You have to swear an oath of alligence to G H Bush, G W Bush, and soon G P Bush if you want to move here from NYC or any other New England area. You have to swear your love for Texas and all things Texan. You have to swear to the conservative principles of small government, probusiness, minimal regulations, and low taxes - and leave your liberal card at the border. And finally, you have to sign up to work the Christ for Bingo game every Thursday at your local Knights of Columbus (KC) Hall.
But, what was it you said?
Texas sucks. They elected George W. Bush as their governor. A lying cocaine snorting weasel, who was worshiping goats when 9/11 happened. They love fracking, oil spills and destroying the environment. They cant be that smart.
The only thing good in texas is... ________ I dont know. (you fill in the blank)
Do you really want to pack your bags and head in this direction? Negative attitudes towards Texas while in Texas will get you into some big heap of trouble. Like they say, "Don't Mess with Texas!"
Are these people voting to End The Lottery Commission- or pull out of MM/PB lottery etc? If they want to remove people from running it, that's a whole new story. I bet there are those who are injecting religion into their votes.
morons sure want to call lottery a tax
i never seen a tax where no one has to pay a penny
no one is forced to play
god forbid people use there money via freedom of choice
morals high ground people my A#$, only not moral people here, are ones thinkin they can pick and choose what we can and Cant buy
glad some of morons who voted to get rid of 2 billion in cash for state voted yes right atfer they voted no for lottery
got to love idiots getting what they want then running form results of it.
i rofl at all votes that changed, ofc they be doing a act of suicide,and they KNOW IT, why leadership was telling them vote Yes 2nd time u morons.
as they would piss off nearly everyone who plays the lottery, and they soon be voted out in a few years when everone forced to vote and throw them out in anger of what they did while in charge of state
lottery would be back sooner or later atfer there all replaced"fired" by the people
this whole vote to stop lottery first time was a time waste and they know it.
they just showed off majority of texas leadership anti freedom"good job idiots"
then again, this fine ad for what is libertarians vs conservatives , conservatives play freedom loving card Only when it suits them, only when it fits there moral high ground, do u have right to spend money, see war on drugs, etc. cant stand them telling anyone what u can do anymore.
lottey harms no one by force, i dont care if some idiot spends all there money and goes broke playin lottery
no one forced them to, just like no one forced anyone to over dose over some drug, law makers need to learn, u don't have right to protect morons by taking away freedom of choice
I always wondered where Margaritaville was.
The really voted to abolish the Texas State Lottery meaning no more PB, MM, scratch-offs, pick-3; no more lottery.
But they can back, re-voted, and 32 changed their votes. Had it stuck, do you think Rick Perry would have veto or signed it?
I repent! I repent!