Topeka — Legislative negotiators have drafted a compromise bill extending the Kansas Lottery's life, agreeing that the Senate will vote on using lottery revenues to lower fares at Kansas airports.
Three senators and three House members on Wednesday finished the work of reconciling differences between the two chambers' versions of the measure.
Their compromise would keep the lottery in operation until July 1, 2008, six years past the July 1, 2002, abolition date set by Kansas law. The House had approved a six-year extension; the Senate amended the bill to make the extension only two years.
The most difficult issue was a House provision setting aside $4 million in lottery revenues for a new program under which the state would reduce airfares. The lottery raises about $60 million for the state.
Senators never have voted on the airfare proposal. During their debate on the lottery bill, a version of the airfare amendment was ruled out of order.
Both chambers must approve the conference committee's report for the final version of House Bill 2038 to go to Gov. Bill Graves. The Senate will vote first, most likely today.
Sen. Nancey Harrington, R-Goddard, her chamber's lead negotiator, was uncertain the compromise will pass. If it doesn't, the conference committee will have to meet again to draft a new compromise for the bill to clear the Legislature.
The lead House negotiator, Rep. Doug Mays, R-Topeka, said he's not sure what to expect from the Senate. Often, on major legislation, a conference committee's first report is rejected in what amounts to a test vote on a particular provision in one chamber.
"I'm hopeful but not overly optimistic," Mays said.
Other provisions in the conference committee's version would ban unsolicited lottery advertising by phone and e-mail, prohibit the lottery from operating interactive video machines, and require the lottery to undergo a security audit at least once every three years.
State government leaders have said the Legislature must decide during the 2001 session whether to renew the lottery because the agency would need a year to pay off prizes and wind down its operations were it abolished.
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