House Ways and Means Committee Moves Lottery Bill

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This afternoon the House Ways & Means Committee took action on Seante Bill 6409, the lottery bill for financial aid.

The Committee took action on a subsitute bill that greatly limited the programs that would benefit from the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account. The substitute bill replaces the language in the original bill with the following:

  • Expresses legislative intent to use increased lottery account revenue for stabilizing and increasing funding for higher education student financial aid.
  • Creates the Washington Opportunity Pathways account. Funding from the Account may only be used for the State Work Study, Opportunity Grant, Washington Scholars, Washington Award for Vocational Excellence (WAVE), State Need Grant, GET Ready for Math and Science, Passport to College, and College Bound.
  • Provides that all net lottery revenue not otherwise obligated for paying lottery administration, lottery prizes, debt service on Safeco Stadium, or Qwest Field and Exhibition Center, gambling education and the Education Construction Account is deposited into the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account.
  • Net revenues from shared lottery games that were previously directed to the state general fund are now directed to the Washington Opportunity Pathway Account.
  • Requires the Lottery Commission, in consultation with independent experts and the HECB, to implement strategies to actively market the state lottery as an essential contributor to Washington early education and higher education programs. 
  • Requires the Lottery Commission to report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on key components, performance objectives, and anticipated revenue impacts of the marketing strategies by December 1, 2010.
  • Requires JLARC to complete a performance review of the Lottery Commission’s marketing expenditures and incentive pay structure by November 2010.

The substitute bill removes the recruitment of entrepreneurial researchers, innovation partnership zones, and research teams as well as early childhood education and assistance program (ECAP) as programs to receive funds placed into the Washington Opportunity Pathways Accounts.

Substitute Senate Bill 6409 now goes to the House floor for further consideration.