Lawsuit potential block to lottery progress

The new lottery instituted for North Carolina could be halted faster than it takes to say "jackpot."

A lawsuit filed Dec. 15 by the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law claims that both the N.C. House and Senate did not follow proper procedures for voting on revenue bills when the lottery bill was passed in 2005.

The plaintiffs, including Rep. Paul Stam, R-Wake, and Sen. Eddie Goodall, R-Union, are seeking to void the measure.

According to Article II, Section 23 of the N.C. Constitution, revenue bills must pass through three separate readings on three separate days in each chamber of the N.C. General Assembly, and the votes for the second and third readings must be recorded.

But in both the House and Senate, voice votes were called immediately after the second reading of the lottery bill.

Goodall said that Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, whose vote in favor of the lottery was needed to break the tie in the Senate, disregarded objections from members of the Senate to hold off the voting for one more day.

Perdue believes the procedures followed were legal and appropriate, said Lew Borman, communications director for Perdue.

Rep. Bill Faison, D-Orange, said that because the bill only enables the state to operate a lottery and does not specifically allocate money to any specific function, it was not a "revenue bill" and therefore not required to meet the voting standards stipulated in Article II, Section 23.

"It's the difference between getting a chance to get money and getting money," he said.

But Stam noted estimated revenues from the lottery could generate more than $400 million per year.

"How do you say raising money is not a revenue bill?" he said.

Stam said a hearing has been requested for Jan. 30, with the hope that the lottery can be stopped before its expected debut in the spring.

"We want to strangle it in its crib," he said.

Ferrel Guillory, director of the UNC Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life, said that because of the separation of powers maintained between the legislative and judicial branches, the plaintiffs' case would have to be exceptionally strong for the courts to rule on their side.

"It's difficult for a court to say how a legislature should conduct itself, just as a court would reject a legislature saying how the court should conduct itself," he said.

Whether or not it is successful, Guillory said the lawsuit proves the lottery is still a contentious issue within the legislative atmosphere of Raleigh, but it is not unusual for lotteries to get off to rocky starts.

"I think once the lottery is up and running and the public has confidence that the lottery is running legitimately ... a lot of this current controversy will subside," he said.

Pamela Walker, corporate communications director for the N.C. Education Lottery, said that the lawsuit has had no effect on their operations and that they're getting lots of interest from vendors all across the state.

"We are just doing the work we were hired to do, and we will continue to do so until we are told otherwise," she said.

 

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