Committee backs veterans lottery trust fund resolution after debate on board authority and education impact
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Summary
The Rules Committee voted to report HJR 10 74 out of committee, setting up a veterans lottery trust fund and a later vote on a veterans-themed lottery game; members debated whether the new game would compete with education lottery revenue and whether the board or legislature would control distributions.
The Rules Committee voted to report HJR 10 74, a House joint resolution to create a veterans lottery trust fund, after debate over how proceeds would be appropriated and whether a separate veterans lottery would compete with education funding.
Representative Roberts, sponsor of the measure, told the committee that HJR 10 74 is “the Veterans Lottery Bill, Trust Fund,” a two-step approach that would first set up the trust and then require a second measure to establish the specific game. He said the proposal largely mirrors a resolution the committee approved in 2023.
Representative Fugate pressed how the money would move from a veterans game into veterans services. Roberts said proceeds would flow into the overall lottery trust fund and the legislature would appropriate the portion earmarked for veterans to the board of governors for disbursement. “Those funds that are generated would be going into the overall lottery trust fund,” Roberts said, adding the legislature would then appropriate the veterans portion to the board for distribution.
Fugate and others questioned whether the legislature could impose percentage-by-purpose limits that would remove discretion from the board. Roberts said that was not his intent and that the bill is structured so the board administers dispersals and the lottery funds could not supplant existing veterans funding.
Representative Hefner emphasized urgent needs and questioned whether a lottery mechanism would deliver timely help versus existing channels that can take months. Roberts described the fund as intended for quick-reaction needs — citing examples such as imminent utility cutoffs and vehicle repairs — and noted that “right now, there is no funding mechanism” to meet those immediate needs.
Committee debate also touched on whether creating a new veterans game would draw revenue away from education. Representative Fugate argued a new game would “dilute where money is going” and called a direct appropriation preferable, while Roberts said a separate game would create an additional stream of income that would not necessarily supplant existing education-directed games.
The clerk announced a roll call tally of 7 aye and 2 nay, and the chair reported HJR 10 74 as due passed out of committee.
Next steps: the resolution will be reported out of committee and would require a separate measure to establish the veterans lottery game itself.
