Bill that would give the Texas Lottery 'a two-year lease on life' gets Senate approval
Senate Bill 3070 would move the Texas Lottery and the state's charitable bingo operation to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and create new criminal offenses for people who buy lottery tickets online or en masse. The bill also mandates a review in two years by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission that will determine if the game should continue in any capacity.
'They have a two-year lease on life — we'll see what happens under the new agency,' Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said as the bill was passed on Thursday.
SB 3070 provides one of only two paths forward for the lottery past September, as the lottery and its agency were already on the chopping block without the added action by lawmakers. The department is currently undergoing a routine review by the Sunset Commission, and requires legislation for it to continue. Senate Bill 2402 is the 'sunset bill' that would maintain the lottery commission but it has an additional hurdle: legislators removed all of the lottery commission's funding in its next budget proposal, and it would have to be placed back into the budget for the commission to continue operating.
Either bill must still pass out of a House committee by May 23 for the lower chamber to weigh in on the game's fate. The House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee recently heard Senate Bill 28, which would ban couriers, and left it pending in committee.
For months, legislators have placed the lottery commission under scrutiny that has sparked investigations, resignations and calls to abolish the game completely. That criticism has largely stemmed from lawmakers concerned about a $95 million jackpot won in April 2023 by a single group that printed 99% of the 26 million possible ticket combinations in a 72-hour period, a process known as a 'bulk purchase.' Under SB 3070, buying more than 100 tickets in a single purchase would be a class B misdemeanor.
To pull off the bulk purchase, the group partnered with four commission-licensed lottery retailers, who ordered dozens of ticket-printing lottery terminals that ran for days to print millions of tickets. That jackpot, as well as the proliferation of online ticket sellers known as lottery couriers, was only possible because the lottery commission willingly assisted them, Sen. Bob Hall said during his layout of the bill.
'The problems we've had are not a result of some very smart people from outside the government figuring out how to beat the system. What we had here was the criminal activities taking place came from within the commission itself,' Hall said, alleging the administrative rules the commission created and the subsequent bulk purchase were in violation of state law.
The Edgewood Republican filed SB 3070 on Monday, and the bill is an amalgamation of several other bills filed throughout the session. The bill would ban online ticket sales and courier services, making digital sales a class A misdemeanor. It also mandates tickets only be bought within licensed retail stores and create an advisory committee for the game.
Patrick lauded Hall as the bill was passed, crediting him for heading the legislative effort to rein in the lottery. Patrick has also been one of the loudest critics of the state game, posting two videos on social media during the session about the lottery and suggesting it may be abolished.
'Almost all the credit goes to you. You've been on this from the beginning,' Patrick said to Hall during floor discussion.
Hall also presented a bill earlier in the session that would abolish the lottery, and described SB 3070 as the 'next best thing.' SB 2402 nor its House counterpart have been heard in committee, and the House bill missed a key deadline to move it out of committee.
First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
a minute ago
- The Hill
New bill outlines federal grants for uterine fibrosis in bipartisan health push
Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) will introduce a bill to award federal grants to study uterine fibroids as one of several competing bipartisan measures to support study of the noncancerous growths common in women of childbearing age. The bill would establish a new grant program of unspecified amount and duration to support research on early detection of and intervention for uterine fibroids, including screening procedures. Alsobrooks is also a cosponsor on a separate bipartisan measure, introduced by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), that would carve out $30 million over four years to study uterine fibroids, although not necessarily through a direct grant program. A spokesperson for the Maryland senator's office said the two 'approaches need to work in tandem — supporting direct research dollars, while also empowering the [Health and Human Services] Secretary to support innovative programs across the country that can reach patients where they are in community.' Eligible topics under the grant program would include disparities in pain control in surgery for uterine fibroids, as well as conditions like Asherman's Syndrome, where scar tissue builds up inside the uterus. Alsbrooks and Lummis's bill would also support programs to raise awareness for uterine fibroids. 'For too long, uterine fibroids have plagued women. We need to invest in research, raise public awareness, and develop programs for early treatment,' Alsobrooks said in a statement. 'I am proud to reach across the aisle and partner with Senator Alsobrooks to ensure women in Wyoming and across the country suffering from uterine fibroids no longer suffer in silence,' Lummis said in a statement. 'Our bipartisan legislation will expand access to screenings and intervention, providing hope to the millions of women who endure this painful condition.' The push to study the health condition, estimated to affect 40 percent to 80 percent of women, comes after the Trump administration has pushed to cancel research grants related to 'diversity, equity and inclusion,' health equity and other topics it deemed to be wasteful. The Department of Health and Human Services has pulled at least two grants this year directly studying uterine fibroids, including a $1.5 million study at the University of Texas and a doctoral student's fellowship at Columbia University. The bill, officially called the Uterine Fibroid Intervention and Gynecological Health Treatment (U-FIGHT) Act, also has a companion in the House introduced by Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) as part of a larger legislation package on women's health. Brown's group of bills includes a law to study the relationship between hair straighteners and uterine cancer. Lummis is the first Republican senator to support the U-FIGHT Act. The bill has also won the support of actress Lupita Nyong'o, who was diagnosed with uterine fibroids and had surgery to remove them.
Fox News
2 minutes ago
- Fox News
Trump, Republicans race to redraw Texas congressional map as Democrats threaten legal war
President Donald Trump and Republicans are moving full speed ahead in an extraordinary push to redraw congressional district maps ahead of next year's midterm elections, when the GOP will be defending its razor-thin House majority. And Democrats are trying to fight back against the Republicans' controversial moves. Texas GOP state lawmakers will unveil their proposed new congressional redistricting maps as early as Wednesday, a well-connected Republican source in the Lone Star State confirmed to Fox News Digital. Meanwhile, the top Democrat in the House is expected to travel to Texas to meet Wednesday evening with Democrats in the state legislature at a meeting in Austin. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has accused the Republicans of being "afraid of the voters in 2026 in the midterm elections and they're trying to cheat to win." The Republican push in Texas is part of a broader effort by the GOP across the country to keep control of the House, and cushion losses elsewhere in the country, as the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats in midterm elections. Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats stormed back to grab the House majority in the 2018 midterms. "Texas will be the biggest one," the president told reporters recently, as he predicted the number of GOP-friendly seats that could be added through redistricting in the reliably red state. "Just a simple redrawing, we pick up five seats." Democrats control just 12 of the state's 38 congressional districts, with a blue-leaning seat vacant after the death in March of Rep. Sylvester Turner. The GOP idea is to relocate Democratic voters from competitive seats into nearby GOP-leaning districts, and move Republican voters into neighboring districts the Democrats currently control. Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, both conservative Republicans and Trump allies, said they needed to redistrict because of constitutional concerns raised by the Justice Department over a handful of minority-dominated districts. But the move is potentially risky. "There is some risk of making safe Republican seats more competitive, and I think that the incumbents are certainly worried about that," veteran Texas-based Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser recently told Fox News. "If you talk to Republican members of Congress, they're going to be worried about their own seats. They don't want to be in a seat that's more competitive." Steinhauser noted "that's the tradeoff for Republicans, if you want to grow the majority." But he added that "the people drawing the maps… they don't want to make any seat too competitive because that will defeat the purpose." Redistricting typically takes place at the start of each decade, based on the latest U.S. Census data. Mid-decade redistricting is uncommon—but not without precedent. Democrats are slamming Trump and Texas Republicans for what they describe as a power grab, and vowing to take legal action to prevent any shift in the current congressional maps. And Democrats in blue-dominated states are now trying to fight fire with fire. "Two can play this game," California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on social media recently. The next day, after a meeting, Democrats in California's congressional delegation said they were on board with an ambitious plan to try and gain at least five seats through redistricting. Democrats currently control 43 of the Golden State's 52 congressional districts. Jeffries, after his two-day stop in Texas, heads to California for meetings with state Democrats. But it won't be easy to enact the change, because in California, congressional maps are drawn by an independent commission that is not supposed to let partisanship influence their work. Newsom has suggested that the state's Democratic-controlled legislature move forward with a mid-decade redrawing of the maps, arguing that it might not be forbidden by the 17-year-old ballot initiative that created the independent commission. The governor also proposed quickly holding a special election to repeal the commission ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Both plans are considered long shots, as they would face plenty of legislative, legal and financial hurdles. Democrats in other heavily populated blue states—including New York, Illinois, and New Jersey, are also considering making changes to their maps, but have redistricting limits enshrined in their state constitutions. Meanwhile, Ohio is required by law to redistrict this year, and a redrawing of the maps in the red-leaning state could provide the GOP with up to three more congressional seats. And Republicans are also mulling mid-decade redistricting that might give the GOP a couple of more House seats in red states such as Florida, Missouri, and Indiana.
Associated Press
2 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Judge considers whether 'Alligator Alcatraz' challenge was filed in wrong venue
MIAMI (AP) — A legal challenge to a hastily-built immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades was filed in the wrong venue, government attorneys argued Wednesday in the first of two hearings over the legality of 'Alligator Alcatraz' in a lawsuit brought by environmental groups. Even though the property is owned by Miami-Dade County, Florida's southern district is the wrong venue for the federal lawsuit by environmental groups since the detention center is located in neighboring Collier County, which is in the state's middle district, according to government arguments. Any decision by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami about whether to move the case could also influence a separate lawsuit brought by civil rights advocates who say that detainees at 'Alligator Alcatraz' have been denied access to attorneys and immigration courts. The federal and state government defendants in the civil rights case also argue that the lawsuit was filed in the wrong venue. At the request of a judge, the civil rights groups on Tuesday filed a revised class-action complaint arguing that the detainees' constitutional rights were being violated. Environmental groups filed their lawsuit against federal and state officials in Florida's southern district last month, asking for the project being built on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades to be halted because the process didn't follow state and federal environmental laws. Besides Wednesday's hearing over venue, a second hearing has been scheduled for next week on the environmental groups' request for temporary injunction. The first of hundreds of detainees arrived a few days after the lawsuit was filed, and the facility has the capacity to hold 3,000 people. The detention center was opened by Florida officials, but critics said it's unclear whether federal immigration officials or state officials are calling the shots. Deportation flights from 'Alligator Alcatraz' started last week. Williams on Monday ordered that any agreements be produced in court between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Florida Department of Emergency Management, a move that could shed some light on the relationship between federal and state agencies in running the facility. Critics have condemned the facility as a cruel and inhumane, as well as a threat to the ecologically sensitive wetlands, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican state officials have defended it as part of the state's aggressive push to support President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. ___ Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @
