A.G. Rejects Another Casino Amendment

Casinos,

This week Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to open four casinos in Siloam Springs, AR; Texarkana, AR; Omaha, AR; and the Little Rock area.

The A.G.’s office rejected the proposal due to ambiguities in the amendment’s ballot title.

This casino amendment reportedly is backed by the group Arkansas Wins, who sponsored a similar measure in 2016.

The Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma gave Arkansas Wins $6 million in 2016 to fund their casino proposal, but it ultimately was removed from the ballot at the last minute. The Cherokee Nation also would have operated one of the casinos the 2016 amendment authorized. It is not clear at this point if the Cherokee Nation would operate casinos under the 2018 proposal.

Meanwhile, The group Driving Arkansas Forward has partnered with the Quapaw Indian Tribe in Oklahoma to bring casino gambling to Arkansas. They’ve submitted ballot proposals for casinos in Jefferson, Garland, Pope, and Crittenden counties. The Quapaw’s leadership has said they want to put a casino in Pine Bluff. Fortunately, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has blocked their proposals as well.

Casino gambling is linked to homelessness, domestic violence, divorce, and bankruptcy. It’s a blight on the community. Arkansas already has enough problems from gambling. We don’t need any more.

You can read the A.G.’s entire opinion here.

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Lottery Scholarship Funding Pathetic Despite Record Sales

Arkansas Lottery

Yesterday the Arkansas Lottery released its financial report for the month of March.

The report shows the Arkansas Lottery took in more than $53.5 million last month, but paid out less than $8 million for scholarships — not even 15 cents of every dollar it made.

March was the Arkansas Lottery’s best month since January of 2016, but the college scholarships the lottery is supposed to fund still drew the short straw. In fact, since last July the Lottery has awarded only 16.7% of its revenue to the state’s scholarship fund. That’s pathetic.

As we have said time and time again, the Lottery doesn’t have a revenue problem; its priorities are out of whack. Below is a breakdown of lottery revenue so far this fiscal year.

Month Gross Lottery Revenue Paid to Scholarships % Gross Revenue
July $36,885,396.81 $6,661,762.99 18.1%
August 49,320,459.23 8,912,741.54 18.1%
September 36,405,731.14 6,755,333.93 18.6%
October 39,802,740.53 5,667,305.74 14.2%
November 36,186,107.78 6,691,228.00 18.5%
December 44,716,219.32 6,583,355.77 14.7%
January, 2018 44,063,056.11 8,230,861.00 18.7%
February 39,389,927.57 5,947,647.50 15.1%
March 53,523,320.61 7,945,570.02 14.8%
Total $380,292,959.10 $63,395,806.49 16.7%

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Come See This Free Movie

Current Events, Tort Reform,

The following announcement is from Family Council Action Committee.

AARP is showing a free movie that sheds light on lawsuit reforms like Issue 1, a proposed state constitutional amendment restricting the amount of money awarded in injury lawsuits.

Family Council Action Committee opposes Issue 1, because it puts a price tag on human life. The amendment caps noneconomic damages in cases of injury or death at $500,000. Under Issue 1, $500,000 might be the only penalty a preschool would face for leaving a child locked in a hot car on a summer day. $500,000 might be all a nursing home would pay for causing the death of an elderly grandmother.

Family Council Action Committee is teaming up with AARP to help Arkansans better understand the consequences of Issue 1.

AARP will show the movie Hot Coffee at different locations around the state from April to June.

Hot Coffee is an award-winning film that explains how lawsuits easily can be misunderstood. It also highlights the unintended consequences of lawsuit reforms.

After the movie, a licensed attorney will be available to answer questions and provide more information.

You are invited to come watch the movie free of charge; please RSVP in advance to let AARP know you intend to be there.

You can find movie dates, times, locations, and RSVP information below.

You can watch a preview for Hot Coffee here.

Russellville
April 12 – 3:30 to 5:00
Pope County Senior Activity Center
1010 N. Rochester Ave.
Russellville, AR 72801
RSVP for Free: https://aarp.cvent.com/HotCoffeeRussellville

Fort Smith
April 18 – 3:00 to 4:30
Fort Smith Library
3201 Rogers Ave
Fort Smith, AR 72903
RSVP for Free: https://aarp.cvent.com/FortSmithHotCoffee

Bella Vista
May 10 – 6:30 to 8:00
Riodan Hall – Bella Vista
3 Riodan Drive
Bella Vista, Arkansas 72715
RSVP for Free: https://aarp.cvent.com/BellaVistaHotCoffee

Little Rock
May 17 – 2:30 to 4:00
AARP Arkansas Office
1701 Centerview Dr. #205
Little Rock, AR 72211
RSVP for Free: https://aarp.cvent.com/LRHotCoffee5172018

June 28 – 6:00 to 7:30
AARP Arkansas Office
1701 Centerview Drive, #205
Little Rock, AR 72211
RSVP for Free: https://aarp.cvent.com/LRHotCoffee6282018

Hot Springs
May 22 – 2:00 to 3:30
Coronado Community Center
150 Ponderosa Lane
Hot Springs Village, AR 71909

Searcy
May 24 – 1:30 to 3:00
Searcy Public Library
113 East Pleasure
Searcy, AR 72143
RSVP for Free: https://aarp.cvent.com/SearcyHotCoffee

Fayetteville
May 29 – 6:00 to 7:30
Willard and Pat Walker Community Room
Fayetteville Public Library
401 W Mountain
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701
RSVP for Free: https://aarp.cvent.com/FayettevilleHotCoffee

Photo Credit: By Petar Milošević [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

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