LITTLE ROCK — Rules for machines that will sell lottery tickets for Arkansas cleared a legislative committee Thursday, opening the way for lottery officials to begin negotiating to put them in stores.
Machines could be vending lottery tickets as early as September, said lottery spokesman Julie Baldridge.
The lottery has 100 of the machines now. It could buy more later.
Chains such as Fred’s and Dollar General in other states have lottery machines, so there is “some expectation” that stores in Arkansas may welcome them, too, said Baldridge.
“And [as far as] the other big-box stores, we’ll just have to wait and see if they are interested,” she said.
The Arkansas Lottery Commission Legislative Oversight Committee completed its review of the commission’s proposed rules Thursday afternoon, thwarting another attempt by Jerry Cox, president of the Family Council, to block the lottery. He has fought its creation, its implementation and its expansion for more than a year.
At the outset of Thursday’s meeting, Sen. David Johnson, D-Little Rock, said the committee’s responsibility was to “review” the rules, not to approve or reject them. Johnson is a co-chairman of the committee.
Historically, matters that get through a legislative panel’s review are deemed “approved.” Lawmakers sometimes use the process of not granting a proposal “reviewed” status as a means of blocking it or threatening to not grant such status as a means of getting a bureaucrat’s attention. When a matter is particularly ticklish for legislators to handle, they emphasize that they are merely in the role of “reviewing,” rather than approving or rejecting.
Ernie Passailaigue, director of the Arkansas Lotttery Commission, said the 100 machines would raise an estimated $5 million a year for college scholarships. The rules, he said, will provide at least as much security against underage people buying tickets as selling the tickets over the counter. Arkansas law forbids minors from playing the lottery or cashing lottery tickets.
The commission will enforce the rules and “we will have zero tolerance for any slips,” Passailaigue said.
The lottery has raised about $91 million for college scholarships during its first 10 months of operation, he said.
Cox said his group collected public comments from more than 1,200 opponents of the machines after the commission purchased 100 last summer through lottery vendor Intralot and then asked for public comment about its proposed rules.
He said 63 percent of voters cast their ballots for the lottery - authorizing Amendment 87 in 2008 and a “responsible lottery.”
“I can promise you kids are going to buy lottery tickets illegally,” Cox said.
During the committee’s meeting, state Sen. Terry Smith, D-Hot Springs, asked, “Are you the same Mr. Cox that came to me before the [2009 legislative] session when we started working on this [lottery] legislation and asked me not to have scratch-off tickets involved in this lottery.”
Cox replied, “Yes sir, I am.”
He explained that he has opposed the creation of the state lottery and wants “a responsibly-run lottery rather than one that is run irresponsibly.”
Cox also unsuccessfully lobbied lawmakers to bar the lottery from participating in multistate jackpot games such as Powerball and Mega Millions. The Arkansas Lottery now participates in both of those.
An awkward moment arose in Thursday’s meeting when Smith objected to lottery foe Kenny Wallis of North Little Rock wearing a campaign shirt for Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Keet of Little Rock as Wallis started testifying against the proposed rules.
“If he wants to go out and take his shirt off and come back in, I won’t object,” said Smith. “But I totally object to this testimony.”
Wallis said he wasn’t aware of any ban on campaign shirts being worn by witnesses.
Johnson said he appreciates Smith’s objection and concern.
“I do think politics has one place and policy and legislation has another, and this no doubt is the place for policy and legislation,” Johnson said. “Mr. Wallis, I would prefer you to keep your shirt on as opposed to off.
“We try to stay away from overt partisan politics here at this committee,” he said.
Then, Rep. Rick Green, R-Van Buren, offered his suit jacket to Wallis so he could put it over the Keet campaign shirt and testify.
Green’s jacket “is a little loose, but I think it will do,” Wallis said, drawing laughter from the audience of about 50 people packed in a room at the state Capitol.
After the meeting, Wallis said he is a volunteer for Keet’s campaign. He declined to say what he does for a living. He’s also the Little Rock coordinator for Secure Arkansas, according to the conservative grass-roots group’s website.
Cox said Wallis videotaped the lottery commission and oversight committee’s meetings on the rule as a volunteer for the Family Council.
Passailaigue has said he sees the machines as the future of the lottery business.
But Cox, who Passailaigue has referred to as “a paid lobbyist,” has said he wants the 2011 Legislature to enact legislation to ban the machines.
Passailaigue said 36 of the nation’s 45 lotteries already have ticket vending machines.
But he said only three or four of these lotteries require the age of the lottery player to be verified through these machines before they can purchase tickets. The commission’s rules require the machines to be capable of validating a player’s age, using a government-issued form of identification.
The rules also require any machines to be placed in a location agreed upon by the commission and the retailer that is in the direct line of sight of a work area staffed during all hours the retailer location is open to the public. The proposed rules mandate that the machines be equipped with a remote control device capable of temporarily terminating the ability of the machines to sell lottery tickets.
Commissioner Derrick Smith of Little Rock said lottery players will have to scan a bar code of a state-issued form of identification, such as a driver’s license, in order to activate the machines. A person with a form of identification for someone under the age of 18 won’t be able to buy tickets through the machines, he said.
Presumably, an illegal driver’s license won’t have the bar code on back of the license to activate the machine, he said.
Rep. Darrin Williams, DLittle Rock, said he saw a demonstration of a ticket vending machine. “It is nothing at all like a slot machine.”
Martha Adcock, an attorney for the Family Council, told lawmakers that the commission’s proposed rules don’t protect people from the commission having slot machines in the future.
“If you don’t mean slot machines, they need to put it in the rules,” she said. “It’s a pig in a poke and you don’t know what you are getting.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 08/27/2010