Senate fails to reach lottery vote

Hold onto your lucky numbers until Tuesday.

N.C. senators, who had left the legislature Wednesday, will be back at work a little earlier than they had promised when the session appeared to be closing until May.

Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, announced Friday that the Senate would convene Tuesday morning, and he did not rule out the possibility that there would be yet another lottery vote.

The lottery bill, which has been the subject of a fierce legislative battle this session, passed the N.C. House at the beginning of April.

Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC’s Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life, said the conversation on the lottery this session is characteristic of the last 12 years that the issue has been discussed.

He added that the lottery would always be contentious.

But legislators might change their minds if forced to choose between a lottery and higher taxes, he said. “You have to think about the trade-offs.”

Democratic Gov. Mike Easley has touted the lottery as a solution to educational problems in the state, especially in the areas of school construction and scholarships.

But legislative feuds have given the proposal a dim future. Even Democrats couldn’t agree on a party-line vote.

“It’s hard to speak of them as having one voice,” Guillory said.

Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, is one of a handful of Senate Democrats against the lottery, calling the proposal bad state policy.

“There’s going to be advertising everywhere, and it’s going to be ugly,” she said.

Kinnaird said there is a good deal of pressure from the legislature to change her vote, but she likely won’t budge.

“That’s the way the place works over there,” Kinnaird said.

Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said he opposes the lottery, along with many members of his party.

“A majority of the members of the Senate do not think the lottery is good public policy,” Berger said.

Many legislators are concerned that money from the lottery might supplant the state-funded programs already in place.

Berger said school construction costs would not match the funds for construction coming in from the lottery.

“The perception does not match the reality,” he said.

Concerns also arose that individuals might buy lottery tickets at the expense of shelter, food and clothing.

House Majority Whip Larry Bell, D-Sampson, who voted for the lottery, said lottery opponents are imagining the worst-case scenario.

“I don’t know anyone in my neighborhood who would take money away from their kids to play the lottery.”

Bell said he voted for the lottery because it is what his constituents want.

It’s unclear whether the Senate will have enough votes Tuesday to pass the lottery bill, should it come to a floor vote. If senators maintain their previous positions on the lottery, the legislation would fail 26-24.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.