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Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas Lottery: Judge puts courier rule change on hold; lawmakers consider bill to shut it down
The Brief AUSTIN, Texas - Texas lawmakers are considering a bill that would shut down the Texas Lottery. This comes after a ruling from a Travis County judge that put on hold a new rule change involving lottery couriers. What we know Senate Bill 1988, if passed, would repeal the Lottery Act and shut down the Texas Lottery Commission, which was created in 1991. The bill would also shift the remaining funds to the Foundation School Program and move the Bingo Division under the oversight of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The bill was filed in March but got its first public hearing on Monday, May 5. The bill has been left pending in the Texas Senate's State Affairs committee. What they're saying "All I was seeking were answers, and they were bringing me answers and lying to me," said state Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood). The harsh words from Hall came as he explained why he filed SB 1988 to abolish the Texas Lottery Commission. "It's not the same commission, it's not the same thing that was established initially by the legislature," said Sen. Hall. Texas Lottery executive director resigns following investigation of recent winning tickets Texas Lottery concerns: Commission holds meeting amid investigations into courier services Bill to ban online, app purchase of Texas Lottery tickets passes Senate During the hearing, Sergio Ray, interim director of the Lottery Commission, tried to reassure the committee that the current TLC staff is determined to protect the integrity of the game. However, when grilled about accountability for what has happened, Ray noted that he was hired after the courier rules were created. "I cannot speak to the thought processes of the predecessors or who were in that decision policy, whether they either directly intended to do harm to the integrity and the honesty of the commission or they were just unintended consequences. I can tell you that the remaining 300 employees Are honoring the integrity, honesty, and fairness of the agency," said Ray. What we know The proposed shutdown is in response to rules adopted by the Lottery Commission that allowed online purchases and the use of courier services. Hall, in discussing his proposal, claimed the Commission's rules violated state law and should never have been done. Questionable multi-million dollar payouts were made under the TLC Courier rules. The rules were removed by members of the Lottery Commission late last month. A courier service coalition filed a lawsuit to block the rule change, and on Friday, Travis County Judge Sherine Thomas hit the brakes on the rule change and granted a temporary restraining order (TRO). Click to open this PDF in a new window. Thomas determined that there is a likelihood the courier coalition will win its lawsuit on the merits of its claim. She also prevented the state from confiscating lotto terminals that were originally sent out. Enforcement of the new rule was put on hold until a court hearing on May 27. What they're saying The Coalition of Texas Lottery Couriers provided the following statement to FOX 7 Austin: By granting request for injunctive relief, the Court affirmed that legal challenge of the Texas Lottery Commission's attempted courier ban "will likely prevail on the merits of its claims." For years, the TLC provided lottery couriers with the authorization, equipment, and guidance they needed to operate, only for the agency to abruptly reverse course in February and overstep its authority by calling for their elimination. Members of the CTLC are eager to work with policy makers to establish a regulatory framework that protects the integrity of the Texas Lottery while also allowing millions of courier customers to continue to safely and conveniently order lottery tickets. Dig deeper Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, who initiated the call to shut down the lottery commission, is pitching a possible compromise to keep the game going. In a recent interview, Patrick suggested the operation of the lottery could be transferred to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. On Monday morning, state Sen. Hall clearly was not convinced a management reshuffling would work. "There is no way to reorganize, restructure, or restore the integrity of the government-run Texas Lottery," said Hall. Hall and other senators who support the shutdown admit doing so will stop money sent to schools and to programs for military veterans. They suggested the Rainy-Day Fund could be used to make up for that loss. The Source Information in this report comes from reporting by FOX 7 Austin chief political reporter Rudy Koski.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State Sen. Bob Hall calls for end of Texas Lottery amid scandal
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — State Sen. Bob Hall, R-Rockwall, was one of the first lawmakers to call for an investigation into the Texas Lottery Commission over their alleged role in a controversial 2023 Lotto Texas drawing. Months later, he laid out the case for abolishing the commission altogether. 'I apologize for the length of this,' Hall said to the Senate State Affairs committee as he went into detail about why the lottery should be abolished. 'It's very important that you know some of the specifics of the laws where it appears they maybe continuing to be broken by a criminal organization deeply embedded within our government.' Hall filed Senate Bill 1988, which would repeal the Lottery Act, shifting the Lottery Commission's remaining funds to the Foundation School Program and leaving the state's charitable bingo operations in the hands of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). While SB 1988 was left pending in committee, the Texas Lottery isn't out of the clear. For starters, the committee could come back and send it to the Senate floor, although with just 10 days until the Texas House bill deadline, it's unlikely SB 1988 would move fast enough to get passed by the end of the legislative session. Texas Lottery Commission approves new rules to penalize courier services However, the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) is also up for a scheduled Sunset Review, meaning the legislature has to pass a bill to extend the agency. Neither State Sen. Mayes Middleton's, R-Galveston, Senate Bill 2402 or State Rep. Lacey Hull's, R-Houston, House Bill 1505 have been heard in a committee hearing. Additionally, the Texas House struck all funding for TLC in their proposed version of the Texas budget, and asked their conferees to fight for defunding the TLC as they negotiate the budget with the Texas Senate. If there's a small sliver of hope for the Texas Lottery, it comes from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's comments last Monday. 'Look, folks like to play the lottery. They like their scratch-off ticket games. They know they don't have a big chance of winning, but they like to play and they like to hope,' Patrick said. 'If we have a lottery game, we need to close down the Lottery Commission and turn it over to [TDLR].' There's no current proposed bill to move the Texas Lottery to another agency, however the measure could be enacted with an amendment to an existing bill. During the hearing, Acting Deputy Executive Director of the TLC Sergio Rey advocated for his current staff. 'I can tell you that the remaining 300 employees are honoring the integrity, honesty and fairness of the agency,' Rey said. Rey started with the TLC in late 2023 (after the notable Lotto Texas drawing) and took on his role when Executive Director Ryan Mindell resigned last month. One of the common arguments in favor of state lotteries is the money provided to the public sector. In Texas, the majority of lottery profits go to schools or veterans. However, according to an analysis presented by Rob Kohler with the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the money is coming from the people who can least afford to lose it. State of Texas: Lottery on 'life support' as Lt. Governor calls for ending commission 'When [Texas] started the lottery back in [the] 90s, the discussion was around — to fund education, whether there was going to be a sales tax or go to a lottery,' Kohler said. 'It was thought — at the time — a sales tax was going to be too regressive, and that a voluntary non-regressive tax would make more sense and fund education… the idea that it was a non-regressive enterprise — I think when you see this data — it would make a sales tax blush.' Kohler argued the areas in Texas with the lowest wealth spent the most on the lottery. He said House District 119 in the San Antonio area sold the most tickets ($102.9 million) while having a per capita income of $26,414. To the contrary, House District 108 in the Dallas area has the highest per capita income of $104,418. They sold less than a quarter of the lottery tickets as HD 119, only selling $24.3 million worth of tickets. '[Ticket sales are] coming from communities and areas in our state that we pour money into trying to help folks — and I represent folks that believe in that — but at the same time, it makes no sense putting $70 million in a district in the name of helping them and then tricking them out of $70 million the same year.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House approves $337B state budget
The Brief The Texas House approved a $337 billion budget after a marathon session. The budget includes money for Education Savings Accounts, border security and property tax relief, while cutting funding for the Texas Lottery. House and Senate leaders must negotiate the differences The Texas House early Friday morning passed a roughly $337 billion budget that will fund the state for the next two years with large chunks of money going towards education, health services and border security. The House passed the budget around 3 a.m. Friday morning after more than 13 hours of debate and hundreds of proposed amendments from both sides of the aisles. The budget remains close to the Senate's version, though several changes were made on the floor that will require negotiations between the two chambers before it can be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. The House passed the bill 118-26 with 19 Republicans and 7 Democrats voting against the bill. What they're saying "Proud of my colleagues for staying the course and putting in the work for Texas," House Speaker Dustin Burrows said. "With the leadership of Chairman Bonnen and the Appropriations Committee, the House has put forth a fiscally responsible budget that stays well within state spending limits while making smart investments in our top priorities." Not everyone was onboard with the budget. Rep. Brian Harrison was another Republican that spoke out against the bill. "This is the most bloated, liberal, reckless budget in the history of Texas," Harrison said. Close to 400 amendments were filed during the House budget debate Thursday. 53 amendments were considered on the floor and 35 were approved. One amendment that passed would eliminate around $1 billion in funding for the Texas Lottery Commission and for economic development and tourism in the governor's office. As of late, the lottery's integrity has come into question for allowing courier companies to sell lotto tickets through a smartphone app. When asked about the move, a spokesperson for the commission told FOX 4 it "respects the legislative process and has no comment to provide." The House budget allotted $75.6 billion to the Foundation School Program, which provides most of the funding to the state's public schools. The $1 billion Education Savings Account program, which would allow families to use public money to pay for private school tuition, remained funded. Another that passed was an amendment that would move $70 million from the state's Medicaid spending to fund Thriving Texas Families. The program provides counseling and education to parents "facing an unexpected pregnancy." Additional border security accounts for $6.5 billion in the new budget. The figure was questioned by some Democrats. "How long is this going to continue? $11 billion has been spent already. Governor Abbott says he's trying to ask for a refund from the federal government. Now, Governor Abbott's friend is in the White House, but there's no refund in the mailbox," said Rep. John Bryant (D-Dallas). The budget would shell out another $51 billion, or 15 percent of the total deal for property tax relief. Republican Rep. Mike Olcott, who represents Palo Pinto, Parker and Stephens counties, argued the deadly wasn't good enough. "I've knocked on more than 10,000 doors in my district over the last three years, and other than the border, property taxes comes up over and over and over again," Olcott said. "I cannot go back to my district and say that with a $24 billion surplus, this is as much property tax that we can do." What's next Lawmakers from both the House and Senate will begin closed-door negotiations to iron out the differences and develop a final version of the budget for consideration. Once approved by both chambers, it must then be approved by Gov. Greg Abbott, who also has veto power. The Source Information in this article comes from the Texas House session debating SB1.
