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West Virginia resisting trend to privatize LotteryNews Story
About a dozen states are flirting with the idea of selling their lotteries to private companies to help plug financial gaps in their budgets. But West Virginia officials say they so far have not seriously considered such an initiative, which would privatize the state lottery in exchange for quick cash. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, for instance, wants to sell the Golden State's lottery to bring in as much as $37 billion. Under Schwarzenegger's plan, the state lottery would be leas
May 10, 2007, 4:26 pm - Lottery News

Schwarzenegger may try to privatize California LotteryNews Story
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is poised to call for privatizing the state lottery, a move that would bring California a cash infusion of as much as $37 billion to help solve pressing budget problems but also could sacrifice a major revenue source for decades to come. The lottery would be leased to a private company for up to 40 years in exchange for a lump-sum payment or series of payments, according to documents from the governor's budget office that were provided to legislative staf
May 10, 2007, 2:56 pm - Lottery News

Indiana Lottery privatization on holdNews Story
Gov. Mitch Daniels said Friday he is putting off but not giving up on his hopes of privatizing the Hoosier Lottery and wants a yearlong, statewide conversation on how best to spend the $2 billion or more the lease could bring. Daniels said 10 companies, mostly American firms, have submitted nonbinding bids to lease the Hoosier Lottery. Half of those, he said, are north of a billion and a half, with two offers well over twice as big as the $1 billion the state had estimated it could rece
Apr 23, 2007, 10:07 am - Lottery News

Republican says Colo. Gov. pressure killed plan to privatize lotteryNews Story
Republicans are accusing the Colorado governor of pressuring his party's legislators into essentially killing a plan to privatize the lottery. They claimed Gov. Bill Ritter believes the lottery proposal would compete with his plan to bring in more property taxes to pay for education. Ritter denied the accusations Friday. Republican Sen. Josh Penry of Fruita also said his Democratic co-sponsor on the lottery plan was under tremendous pressure to back away from the idea. The co-spons
Apr 22, 2007, 10:58 am - Lottery News

Legal opinion sinks sale of Colorado LotteryNews Story
Dreams of selling off the Colorado Lottery for a fat payoff were discarded like a losing scratch ticket Thursday after state legal experts gave an adverse opinion on the plan. Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, said he would not seek a measure that would ask voters to sell a concession contract in the state lottery because he couldn't fix a legal opinion that referred to the proposed sale as the state taking on $3 billion in debt. I may be a freshman, but I'm not that stupid, Romer said.
Apr 20, 2007, 8:08 am - Lottery News

Indiana Senate approves lottery sell-offNews Story
Administration officials worked the back of the Senate chamber Tuesday and managed to secure just enough support to pass Gov. Mitch Daniels' plan to privatize the Hoosier Lottery. The 27-20 vote comes from a GOP-controlled chamber that is far friendlier to the governor's plans than the Democratic-held House, where Senate Bill 577 heads next. The legislation authorizes the state to enter into a contract with a private operator to run the lottery for the next 30 years. In exchange, the st
Feb 28, 2007, 9:06 am - Lottery News

Indiana Lottery privitization takes big step forwardNews Story
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels' plan to privatize the state lottery took a major step forward Tuesday when a key Senate fiscal panel narrowly approved the proposal. The 7-5 vote came after educators and business leaders lined up to support leasing the Hoosier Lottery to a private operator in exchange for $1 billion toward a life sciences initiative and scholarships meant to keep smart Hoosier kids in Indiana. One Republican joined the four Democrats on the committee to vote against the measure
Feb 21, 2007, 8:35 am - Lottery News

Indiana Lottery sell-off advances in state SenateNews Story
Correction: This story originally identified Kentucky as the state selling off its lottery. We apologize for the error. A Senate committee approved legislation yesterday to privatize the Hoosier Lottery after university officials said they needed the money it would generate to attract top researchers and boost life sciences. We believe this bill is a difference maker, said Purdue University President Martin Jischke. Senate Bill 577 passed 7-5 largely along party lines, with Republi
Feb 21, 2007, 8:11 am - Lottery News

Will Maryland sell off its lottery?News Story
With a huge cash crunch on the horizon and soaring demands for school construction, new roads and mass transit, some Maryland lawmakers are talking up the idea of selling one of the state's most valuable assets: the lottery. The idea has grown popular since the governor of Illinois proposed doing the same thing last year. The governors of Indiana and Texas have suggested similar moves, and discussions of the idea are taking place in Michigan and New Jersey. Maryland faces a gap of $1.3 bil
Feb 15, 2007, 12:15 pm - Lottery News

GOP legislators question math in Texas lottery-sale planNews Story
Texas Gov. Rick Perry's proposal to sell off the state lottery to fund cancer research and health insurance was met with skepticism Tuesday from a number of key Republican lawmakers who said the numbers don't add up. I don't know anyone who's supporting it, said Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, who chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee. I'd give it only a 10 percent chance of passing. In an e-mail, Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, who heads the Senate State Affairs Committee, sa
Feb 9, 2007, 8:15 pm - Lottery News