The Tennessee lottery could make at least $70 million more than what is needed to fund college scholarships this year, and Gov. Phil Bredesen wants to budget most of the extra for prekindergarten programs.
Chief lottery sponsor Sen. Steve Cohen estimates the lottery will have $70 million to $100 million left over after paying for college scholarships this year. He and Bredesen agreed this week to support giving 80 percent of that to prekindergarten programs and 20 percent to after-school programs.
That makes sense as a target, Bredesen said Friday, adding that he will include the proposal in the budget he presents to lawmakers Feb. 2.
Cohen did caution against spending all of the leftover funds, saying the amount available for scholarships in later years could change as more students qualify and lottery sales level off.
Funding prekindergarten programs has been a popular proposal among lawmakers in recent years, but so far the money has not been allocated.
House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington, said he was unaware of Bredesen and Cohens plan to divide the extra revenue.
The governor and Cohen agreed to that? I believe we are all going to have to have that discussion, Naifeh said Friday. Until I discuss it with my leadership, I am not going to agree to anything.
Last week, lottery chief Rebecca Paul announced the games will begin Jan. 20, three weeks earlier than anticipated. That will mean an additional $15 million to $20 million in net profit, she said.
State law requires any excess lottery revenue to go to prekindergarten and after-school programs, but lawmakers have not yet decided which organizations will receive the money.
After-school programs also are set to receive half of any unclaimed prize money, with the remainder of the funds going back into the prize pool.
No wonder they're rushing it.