Lottery sale proposasl reaction mixed

TEXAS – As reported by the Austin-American Statesman: "Gov. Rick Perry, hunting support for selling the Texas Lottery, told a Capitol crowd Thursday that the state might get more than $20 billion for selling a 40-year concession — with the option of buying back the lottery after that.

"The figure is $6 billion more than what Perry pitched as his conservative estimate for selling the lottery in his State of the State speech on Tuesday.

"The GOP governor wants proceeds from selling the lottery to establish three endowments. Interest from one fund would be devoted to cancer research, interest from another would help low-income Texans purchase health insurance, and interest from the third would go to public schools, which would need to replace $1 billion a year they now get from the lottery.

"…The proposal received mixed reviews from those in the audience.

"Economist Wendy Gramm, a foundation board member, noted that lottery revenue fluctuates and said the state could remove the impact of that fluctuation by selling the lottery.

"…Byron Schlomach, the foundation's chief economist, said before Perry spoke that the group found the sales idea interesting but that it would need to study it more carefully.