By Zack Stovall
Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK — State Sen. Sue Madison, D-Fayetteville, said Friday she is proposing the repeal of Arkansas’ lottery law.

Claiming that a constitutional amendment approved by voters last year only enabled legislators to establish a lottery and did not mandate its creation, Madison said she is proposing an interim study
to look into repealing Act 606 of 2009, the legislation setting up the lottery.

In an interview with the Arkansas News Bureau, Madison said her “mind was made up years ago” to vote against any lottery legislation, and therefore she did not examine the proposal.

“When it got to the session, I assumed it’s a mandate from the people of Arkansas,” she said.

The senator said grumbling about salaries and overhead costs — a tabs she said will be picked up by Arkansas’ poorest through lottery ticket purchases — motivated her to research the proposal to see how difficult it would be to repeal the lottery’s enabling legislation.

“The proposal that was put forth did not mandate, it empowered the Legislature to have one if we wanted one,” said Madison. “We should have paid a lot better attention and we should have had that discussion.”

The amendment put before Arkansas voters in November was entitled, “A constitutional amendment authorizing the General Assembly to establish, operate, and regulate state lotteries to fund scholarships and grants for Arkansas citizens enrolled in certified two-year and four-year colleges and universities in Arkansas.”

House Speaker Robbie Wills, D-Conway, the lead House sponsor of the lottery legislation, said that while he hasn’t read Madison’s proposal, the study would be “a waste of staff time.”

“In November of 2008, when Arkansans voted to approve the amendment, there was no doubt about what they were voting for,” said Wills. “You really have to look at the intent of the voters. She’s welcome to propose an interim study, but there’s not much support for repealing the lottery.”