HBA-TBM H.J.R. 98 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.J.R. 98 By: Raymond Public Education 4/9/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, the balance of revenue from the state lottery account is deposited in the foundation school fund, after the payment of prizes, operation, and administrative costs and the establishment of various auxiliary funds. While the constitution does not designate the funds from the lottery as general revenue funds, the designation of lottery funds to the foundation school fund is merely a statutory requirement. An amendment could provide constitutional protection to the designation of lottery funds for public school purposes. House Joint Resolution 98 requires the submission to the voters of a constitutional amendment to dedicate net revenue from the state lottery to offset the costs of public school educational programs. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this resolution does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Joint Resolution 98 amends the Texas Constitution to provide that all money received by the state from the operation of lotteries other than amounts paid for lottery prizes and administrative costs is dedicated to and may be expended only for the enrichment of the educational programs of the public primary and secondary schools and only for items that directly benefit classroom teaching. The amount of money dedicated and appropriated each fiscal biennium shall result in an equal reduction in general revenue funds that would otherwise have been allocated for public school purposes. The bill prohibits an advertisement or promotion sponsored by the state or a holder of a license issued by the state and related to the operation of a lottery from encouraging or attempting to influence a person to purchase a lottery ticket or number for the purpose of supporting or providing more funds to public primary or secondary schools. FOR ELECTION This proposed constitutional amendment shall be submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 6, 2001.