Senate approves bill aimed at lottery scholarship fix


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — It's now up to lawmakers in the House to consider a proposal aimed at shoring up New Mexico's struggling lottery scholarship program.

The legislation, approved by the Senate on a 29-12 vote late last week, would require the New Mexico Lottery Authority to provide $41 million a year for college scholarships.

The measure also removes a requirement that the lottery funnel at least 30 percent of its monthly revenue to the scholarship program.

Senate Finance Chair John Arthur Smith, the bill's sponsor, said the change would allow the lottery to award bigger prizes and spend more money on advertising. That could lead to more revenue and more money for scholarships, he said.

"What we're attempting to do is maximize the bottom line to the state for lottery scholarships," Smith during a debate Thursday.

The measure has been assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee but as of Sunday it had yet to be scheduled for discussion. The clock is ticking; lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn Thursday at noon.

Lawmakers failed during the last session to bolster the program's financial underpinnings, leading to concerns by the state's top higher education officials that a smaller percentage of tuition would be covered by lottery scholarships.

Lower enrollment over the last year helped to keep coverage at about 90 percent. About 32,000 students rely on the money.

State higher education officials had warned before the legislative session that tuition support would be reduced by 30 percent in the fall of 2018 if lawmakers fail to act.

While lottery ticket sales have been down, some advocates are concerned the legislation would actually limit the amount of money the lottery delivers to the scholarship program.

Fred Nathan, executive director of Think New Mexico, a Santa Fe-based think tank that pushed for the scholarship program's creation, said the 30 percent minimum requirement has resulted in an additional $9 million a year for scholarships.

"The $41 million floor will become a ceiling because the lottery does not have an incentive to deliver one penny more to scholarships, even if lottery sales increase," Nathan said.

Some senators voted against the bill, arguing that they could not support a government-sponsored campaign to increase lottery sales.

"The lottery is an incredibly regressive way of funding scholarships," said Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces. "An inordinate percentage of the tickets are bought by low-income people to pay for college scholarships of wealthier people."

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent Business stories

Related topics

Business
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast