Brief(1)
As amended by the House Committee on Appropriations, H.B. 2016 would establish a Lottery Unclaimed Prize Fund. The Executive Director of the Lottery would be directed to certify the first $2.0 million of unclaimed prizes upon expiration of each game for transfer to the Unclaimed Prize Fund. On June 25 of each year, the amount in the Unclaimed Prize Fund would be transferred to the State Tourism Fund.
Current law provides that the Secretary of Commerce and Housing must submit individual budget requests, with individual lines in the appropriation bill, for expenditures from the State Tourism Fund of $50,000 or more. H.B. 2016 would repeal that requirement. As amended, the bill provides that the Council on Travel and Tourism must approve all expenditures from the Fund. This bill would take effect following publication in the Kansas Register.
Background
The bill was recommended by the House Committee on Tourism and then referred to the House Committee on Appropriations which amended it.
The bill would provide a dedicated funding source for the State Tourism Fund. Proponents in the House Appropriations Committee included the Secretary of Commerce and Housing, the Travel Industry Association of Kansas, and Representative Ethel Peterson. There were no opponents.
Currently, the unclaimed prize money is returned to the prize pool for prizes in subsequent games. According to the Kansas Lottery, decreased prizes will eventually result in decreased sales of lottery tickets. Since a minimum of 30 percent of lottery sales proceeds are statutorily directed to be transferred to the State Gaming Revenues Fund, and amounts over $50.0 million then are transferred to the State General Fund, passage of this bill could result in a loss to the State General Fund.
1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html.