Daniels studies leasing lottery

By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener
lstedman@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

INDIANAPOLIS — A lease of the Hoosier Lottery to a private company — which Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected to propose today — could generate a $1 billion upfront payment that the state would use for scholarships and other higher-education spending.

Lawmakers who have been briefed on the governor's idea said yesterday that the company also would give the state $200 million a year.

That's the amount lawmakers are currently spending annually from lottery proceeds to reimburse local governments for an automobile excise tax cut and to shore up underfunded pensions.

The $1 billion payment would be split between scholarships for the state's brightest students and efforts to attract top researchers and professors to the state's universities.

Daniels' office has declined to offer any details about today's announcement.

But, according to a description of the plan obtained by The Courier-Journal, about 60 percent of the upfront payment for the lottery lease would be invested and the earnings used for $5,000 annual merit-based scholarships for four years per student.

Students who did not remain in Indiana for at least three years after graduation would have to pay the scholarship money back.

The rest of the upfront lease payment would be used to attract top professors, the document said.

Some lawmakers seemed skeptical about the proposal yesterday.

House Speaker Pat Bauer, D-South Bend, said he feared that the lease could lead to expanded gambling.

Learn more about Lottery Plan at the Courier-Journal.com