What the...?
The Texas House voted 81-65 to abolish the state lottery Tuesday, which would strip more than $1 billion a year from public schools.
A bi-partisan bloc of Republicans and Democrats spoke against the lottery on moral grounds.
A group of Democrats joined a Republican contingent that included at least two dozen Republican freshmen in voting against continuation of the Texas Lottery Commission. The vote can be reconsidered later if one of those who voted against the lottery asks for a new vote and it's granted by a majority of the House.
Soon after the bombshell vote, House members broke for lunch, and Republican Speaker Joe Straus met with top leaders in the chamber to regroup.
Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, the author of the lottery sunset bill that would have continued the agency, warned that if the lottery went away, $1.1 billion in annual state revenue — most of it going to schools — would be lost. He also said charity bingo games regulated by the Texas Lottery Commission wouldn't be allowed, either.
"The lottery has accounted for about $21 billion since its inception," he said. "I believe they have a principled approach, but they just made bingo illegal in the state of Texas. ... And they just took $2.2 billion (over two years) away from public schools."
The vote came as a surprise to Anchia as members who voted against it expressed concerns that it preys on the poor and isn't a good way to fund education. The Baptist Christian Life Commission has long argued in favor of abolishing the lottery commission, which was approved in 1993, and made that argument again during a recent House committee hearing.
Anchia said no House members came to him before Tuesday's debate expressing problems with the bill. After fairly tame debate, he was about to speak in support of its preliminary passage when legislators began speaking against the lottery.
"We're going to explore all the options," Anchia said when the House took its break. "There will be an effort to reconsider."
He said the question is not whether to do away with the lottery, because many people don't like the lottery, but whether "we want to fund government without raising taxes."
Oh, no. I know somebody who plays in Texas, and he'd be devastated if this were to happen.
They better rethink what they're doing.
Texans will take those billions of dollars to the surrounding states.
The surrounding states already pull in Texas millions to their casinos.
The Texas House voted 81-65 to abolish the state lottery.
That was not even a close vote. Brace yourselves guys, it seems the push back to abolish gambling might start in Texas. Really sad
I wonder if they will eventually go as far as South Carolina did before it had a lottery. For a while they were stopping anyone returning from a neighboring state and arresting them if they found any lottery tickets in their vehicles.
"I think you just had a lot of people that are philosophically opposed to the lottery," said state Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, the bill's author. "A lot of people just hate the lottery."
it's really about Texas wanting to separate from the US
Texas probably wouldn't survive on it's own.
Wow SC must have been very determined. They might try to do that in Texas but enforcement would be so hard, they would have to abandon it before a year is over. Texas is just too big and its tough to use sniffer dogs to sniff out hidden lottery tickets so a good search would last more than 15 minutes per car. Impossible!
According to the Dallas Morning News just moments ago.....
UPDATED at 4:18 p.m.: Nevermind. After voting earlier in the day to abolish the Texas lottery, the House voted 92-53 this afternoon tentatively to continue the Texas Lottery Commission.
The vote to occurred after the House decided to reconsider the earlier vote _ and after lots of talk about how to replace more than $2 billion in the state budget that doing away with the lottery would have wiped away. A final vote takes place Wednesday.
maybe they can use some of their Oil money or the money they are saving from electric by using all them windmills:
when i lived in Texas everything was so expensive you would think i lived in a California mansion but you can't beat the pay there
God Bless Texas
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)
They should start a new lobbying group. Christ for Bingo and Bouncing Balls.
A new industry will start. Taking illegals from mexico, and instead of transporting dope, they will transport PB and MM tickets from surrounding states.
It will be very lucrative.
George W might even start a businees.
Never mind I heard all his businesses fail.
What the hell, who votes for something and then comes right back and votes against it the same day? Clearly some palms were greased during the interim.
You remind of some of the Democrats I know who are smoking glue. I didn't know you were a squeaky clean and were better than anyone else by your comments Boner. Are you sure of your accusations, or are you just lip syncing the Demos?
What you need to do is clean up your own backyard, before trying to tell everyone else what anyone else did by your assumptions. Your post isn't even remotely funny.
I'm glad the politicians of Texas finally came to their senses. I was beginning to think they were from the same state of mind that Boner is.
Haven't we learned that Prohibition didn't work?
This sucks on ice.
