Lottery Scholarship Bill Clears Final Committee

STATE News:

  • House Bill 250 now heads to the House floor

SANTA FE – A bill to improve New Mexico’s lottery scholarship program was unanimously passed by the House Business and Industry Committee Monday. House Bill 250 is sponsored by Rep. Jason Harper (R-Sandoval) and Rep. Javier Martinez (D-Bernalillo), and it now heads to the House floor for a vote by the full House of Representatives.

House Bill 250 would amend the New Mexico Lottery Act to require that all unclaimed lottery prizes be directed to the lottery tuition fund used to pay for student scholarships. The bill would also tie bonuses for lottery employees and contractors to the size of the tuition fund rather than gross revenues and other non-scholarship related items. Finally, the bill would prohibit the lottery from offering any type of video-style lottery games.

“The lottery scholarship program was created to make it easy and affordable for New Mexico’s students to pursue college opportunities,” Harper said. “House Bill 250 reaffirms the Lottery Authority’s focus on providing scholarships for students rather than simply making money. I’m so grateful for the strong bipartisan support it’s received, and I look forward to continuing the discussion on the House floor.”

House Bill 250 also was unanimously endorsed Feb. 6 by the House Labor and Economic Development Committee. It will now be placed on the House floor calendar and scheduled for debate by the House of Representatives.

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