Sen. Jimmy Hickey filed his expected legislation yesterday to abolish the Arkansas Lottery Commission and make the division a part of the state Higher Education Department.

Leaders of the House and Senate and Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson are quoted warmly about the proposal in today’s Democrat-Gazette, which likely indicates swift passage.

Advertisement

There’s some irony in legislation to reshape the lottery by a senator who fought its efforts to expand the revenue pool through new types of games, as other states have done. 

Here’s Hickey’s huge bill, which has plenty of nooks and crannies to explore. They include a powerful legislative oversight committee, which is in keeping with various structural changes that have made the legislature even more powerful than it already was relative to the governor. The bill continues to prohibit the lottery from competing with the two casinos in Arkansas in casino-style games.

Advertisement

Of more concern to me is Hickey’s other bill to make the dwindling pool of lottery scholarship money awarded on higher grade and college test score standards. This inevitably will make the scholarships disproportionately a benefit for more prosperous families likely college-bound in the first place and less likely to expand the number of people going to college, which was the nominal idea behind establishment of the lottery in the first place.

Advertisement

Be a part of something bigger

As a reader of the Arkansas Times, you know we’re dedicated to bringing you tough, determined, and feisty journalism that holds the powerful accountable. For 50 years, we've been fighting the good fight in Little Rock and beyond – with your support, we can do even more. By becoming a subscriber or donating as little as $1 to our efforts, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be helping us hire more writers to expand our coverage and continue to bring important stories to light. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, it's clear that our readers value our great journalism. Join us in the fight for truth.

Previous article Tuesday’s open line and video news roundup Next article Tough reviews of Mike Huckabee in the early going