Statement of Lt. Governor Bolling on Budget Ruling to Protect Education Money in Lottery Proceeds Fund

 

STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BOLLING ON BUDGET RULING TO PROTECT EDUCATION MONEY IN LOTTERY PROCEEDS FUND

- Bolling: “Public education, fiscal responsibility and strict adherence to constitutional requirements should not be a victim of a shell game.”-

 

RICHMOND – Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling issued the following statement regarding his ruling today requiring a four-fifths vote for passage of the budget that includes transferring money from the Lottery Proceeds Fund.

 

“Article X, Section 7-A of the Constitution of Virginia, which was ratified by the voters  on November 7, 2000, requires the General Assembly to establish the Lottery Proceeds Fund and provides that the Lottery Proceeds Fund shall consist of the net revenues, or profits, of any lottery conducted by the Commonwealth.

 

“The Constitution further states that the proceeds of the fund shall be appropriated ‘to the Commonwealth’s counties, cities and towns, and the school divisions thereof, to be expended for the purposes of public education.’

 

“Finally, the Constitution provides that the General Assembly may appropriate amounts from the Lottery Proceeds Fund for other purposes, but only by a four-fifths vote of the members voting in each house.

 

“In determining how this Constitutional requirement applies, we must consider two issues:

 

“First, we must consider that the strict Constitutional requirements set forth in Article X, Section 7-A requires two things.  These provisions require that that the proceeds in the Lottery Proceeds Fund be appropriated ‘to the Commonwealth’s counties, cities and towns.’  These provisions also require that such funds be used solely for ‘the purposes of public education.’

 

“Second, having established these Constitutional requirements, we must consider the effect that the transfer of funds from the Lottery Proceeds Fund to the Commonwealth’s general fund would have in practical application.

 

“Currently, 100% of the proceeds in the Lottery Proceeds Fund are currently returned to the counties, cities, towns and school divisions of the Commonwealth and used for public education purposes.  Approximately 60% of these funds are used to support basic aid to public education, otherwise known as the Standards of Quality.  The remaining 40% are used to provide additional educational funding, adjusted for such factors as average daily membership and the composite index.  In addition, the General Assembly uses significant general funds to provide additional educational funding to public education in Virginia.

 

“Under the Senate budget, a portion of the existing general funds that had been earmarked for public education would be redirected to other government programs leaving a hole in the total money needed to fund public education programs in the Commonwealth.  To plug this hole, the Senate budget included moving $65 Million from the Lottery Proceeds Fund to the general fund in FY 2008, 2009, and 2010, and using that money to plug the hole in education funding that is created by the proposed general fund transfer I discussed earlier.

 

“The net result of this action would be the creation of a similar hole in the Lottery Proceeds Fund, which the Senate budget does not fill.  Therefore, the net effect of these actions would be to reduce overall funding for public education in Virginia.

 

“At best, the scenario contemplated by the budget bill is a shell game.  By taking money from one fund and transferring it to another, the Senate budget tries to create the perception that since all of the involved dollars are being used for public education the shell game is somehow acceptable, but it is not.  The shell game ultimately results in less funding for public education in Virginia, less funding from the Lottery Proceeds Fund and more funding for new and expanded government programs.  This is exactly what the Constitution seeks to prevent.

 

“While the Constitution does make provisions for using money in the Lottery Proceeds Fund for other purposes, it requires a four-fifths vote to do so.  That is to make certain that monies are not redirected from the Lottery Proceeds Fund and public education and to other programs without the approval of a super majority of the members of the General Assembly.

 

“For these reasons, I ruled that the budget bills before us would require a four-fifths vote for final passage as long as the proposed transfer of moneys from the Lottery Proceeds Fund remains a part of the bill.  Public education, fiscal responsibility and strict adherence to constitutional requirements should not be a victim of a shell game.”

Date Published: 2008-02-27 05:00:00

Section: Politics, Photos: Lt. Governor State Seal,