PRINTER'S NO. 255
No. 8 Session of 1993
INTRODUCED BY ANDREZESKI, LAVALLE, MUSTO, WILLIAMS AND RHOADES,
JANUARY 22, 1993
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, JANUARY 22, 1993
A RESOLUTION
1 Establishing a Special Committee to investigate means of
2 generating additional sources of revenues needed to maintain
3 the integrity of the State Lottery Fund.
4 WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Lottery was established by the
5 General Assembly under Act 91 of 1971 "for the purposes of
6 providing property tax relief for the elderly" and "for
7 providing certain free fixed route local transit services to
8 persons sixty-five years of age or older"; and
9 WHEREAS, Since that time, the State Lottery Fund has been
10 called on to provide more funds for more programs that benefit
11 older Pennsylvanians; and
12 WHEREAS, The State Lottery Fund now pays for Property Tax and
13 Rent Rebates, Inflation Dividends, Free Mass Transit, Elderly
14 Vehicle Registrations, Area Agency on Aging Grants, the
15 Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE)
16 Program, Abuse Intervention Services for Older Pennsylvanians,
17 the PennCARE Program and the general government operations of
18 the Pennsylvania Department of Aging; and
1 WHEREAS, The State Lottery Fund has also been used to pay for
2 existing programs that were formerly funded out of the General
3 Fund, providing almost $173 million in funds to such programs in
4 1986-1987; and
5 WHEREAS, The expansion of the State Lottery Fund, coupled
6 with the growing costs of funding existing programs for older
7 Pennsylvanians, has now reached a point where the State Lottery
8 Fund is projected to show a negative ending balance in the next
9 fiscal year; and
10 WHEREAS, Even with the continued transfer of line items from
11 the State Lottery Fund to the General Fund and other
12 preservation initiatives, it is estimated that the deficit in
13 the State Lottery Fund will reach $200 million in fiscal year
14 1993-1994; and
15 WHEREAS, The deficit in the State Lottery Fund would
16 seriously jeopardize the continuation of existing senior citizen
17 programs at their current levels; therefore be it
18 RESOLVED, That the preservation of the State Lottery Fund and
19 those lottery-funded programs that serve older Pennsylvanians be
20 the highest priority of the Pennsylvania Senate; and be it
21 further
22 RESOLVED, That the Senate take steps necessary to protect the
23 integrity of the State Lottery Fund by establishing a Special
24 Committee to investigate means of generating additional revenues
25 to keep the State Lottery Fund solvent; and be it further
26 RESOLVED, That this Special Committee specifically study what
27 impact various other options of gambling in Pennsylvania would
28 have in terms of generating additional moneys to keep the State
29 Lottery Fund out of deficit; and be it further
30 RESOLVED, That the Special Committee make a thorough
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1 examination of all forms of gambling as they now exist in
2 Pennsylvania by utilizing public opinion surveys, focus groups
3 and public hearings, as well as the means by which the
4 Commonwealth operates, licenses or regulates these forms of
5 gambling to the benefit of its citizens; and be it further
6 RESOLVED, That the Special Committee investigate what impact
7 other existing forms of gambling, including, but not limited to,
8 sports betting, video poker, small games of chance and off-track
9 betting, would have on enabling the Commonwealth to be in the
10 premiere position to realize additional revenues that will
11 enable the State Lottery Fund to remain solvent; and be it
12 further
13 RESOLVED, That the Special Committee examine existing forms
14 of gambling in other states, which may be similar or dissimilar
15 to those forms which exist in Pennsylvania, and evaluate what
16 social and economic impact they have both in that state and
17 potential impact, if any, for the Commonwealth; and be it
18 further
19 RESOLVED, That the Special Committee consist of five majority
20 members and four minority members of the Senate appointed by the
21 President pro tempore and that the expenses incurred by the
22 Special Committee in carrying out its responsibility, including
23 the hiring of an actuary, be paid from appropriate accounts
24 under the control of the Chief Clerk; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That the Special Committee make recommendations to
26 the full Senate based on its analysis of the potential for
27 generating additional revenues from various other options of
28 gambling and the potential fiscal impact of these additional
29 revenues on preserving the integrity of the State Lottery Fund
30 in terms of:
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1 (1) continuing existing programs to benefit senior
2 citizens at current levels;
3 (2) expanding certain programs to keep up with the
4 demands placed on State services by an increasingly aging
5 population; and
6 (3) creating new programs to meet unmet needs in the
7 areas of long-term care and catastrophic medical coverage for
8 older Pennsylvanians.
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