Lottery Scholarship Proceeds Slip to 15% as Revenue Increases in May

Arkansas Lottery

The Arkansas Lottery has released its financial summary for the month of May. The report shows lottery revenue increased by more than $1.8 million from April to May.

Despite this increase in revenue, scholarship proceeds dropped by nearly $472,000–falling to $5.4 million or 15% of the Lottery’s revenue for the month.

All told, the Arkansas Lottery has taken in $375,419,115.97 since July 1, 2014, but it has only paid out $64,171,317.48 in scholarship money–17% of the Lottery’s overall revenue for the year.

The Arkansas Lottery’s fiscal year closes at the end of this month. Looking at the numbers, it appears the Arkansas Lottery likely will pay out between $70 and $76 million in scholarships this fiscal year–about 17% – 18% of its gross revenue.

Below is a breakdown of the Lottery’s revenue and scholarship payments this fiscal year.

Month Gross Lottery Revenue Paid to Scholarships % Gross Revenue
July  $               30,925,067.43  $              5,928,447.99 19%
August                   31,571,412.10                  5,296,965.80 17%
September                   30,710,493.31                  4,317,227.10 14%
October                   32,959,739.29                  5,939,625.59 18%
November                   30,617,278.28                  5,577,035.16 18%
December                   34,507,731.54                  5,474,318.77 16%
January, 2015                   35,433,619.67                  7,287,773.28 21%
February                   41,770,314.46                  6,161,343.01 15%
March                   37,367,453.25                  6,898,524.35 18%
April                   33,866,970.54                  5,881,005.95 17%
May                   35,689,036.10                   5,409,050.48 15%
Total  $                375,419,115.97  $              64,171,317.48 17%

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The Magna Carta and Religious Liberty

Current Events, History, , ,

Today is the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta–considered by many to be the founding document of the concept of the rule of law. But an important aspect of the document’s history is being overlooked: The role the church played in its drafting.

Writing at Breakpoint, Eric Metaxas says,

“With the disagreement threatening to turn into a civil war, the Archbishop of Canterbury, working as an intermediary between the King [of England] and the barons, helped to draft a proposed charter that would settle the dispute. . . .

“Since then, virtually every opponent of despotism and tyranny in the English-speaking world has drawn inspiration from the Magna Carta, which declared, ‘To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay, right or justice.’ When the Founding Fathers complained about ‘taxation without representation,’ they were appealing to the Magna Carta.”

Listen to Metaxas’ full commentary below to learn more about this document and what it has to do with liberty today.

[audio:http://www.breakpoint.org/images/content/breakpoint/audio/2015/061515_BP.mp3]

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A.G. Rutledge Requests Rehearing on Pro-Life Law

2 CommentsAbortion, , ,

Yesterday Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed for a rehearing in a court case that struck part of a 2013 pro-life law.

The law–known as the Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act–was sponsored by Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Conway) in 2013; it prevents abortions after the twelfth week of pregnancy if a fetal heartbeat is detected–except in cases of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother.

The law passed the Arkansas Legislature handily, but was vetoed by Gov. Mike Beebe. After legislators voted to override the governor’s veto, the law went into effect, but was challenged as unconstitutional in a lawsuit.

As a result of that lawsuit, federal District Judge Susan Webber Wright struck down much of the law as unconstitutional, and late last May a panel of three federal judges upheld her ruling. The Attorney General’s Office has requested a rehearing of the case before the entire Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

A rehearing would provide an opportunity for the federal court to reverse the lower court’s ruling and reinstate a good, pro-life law that protects unborn children and promotes women’s health; the longer a woman waits to have an abortion, the more dangerous abortion becomes.

Arkansas Department of Health data from 2010 – 2014 does not show a single abortion performed in Arkansas due to a medical emergency; the vast majority of abortions are performed on healthy mothers carrying healthy babies. It’s unfortunate abortion has become just another means of birth control. The Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act addresses that by specifying the timeframe during which an abortion can occur.

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