The Hope for Arkansas Committee, formed by Lieut. Gov. Bill Halter to put a constitutional amendment allowing a state lottery on the November ballot, last week reported a total of $437,850 in contributions and $437,393 in expenses through May 31.
The largest single contributor to the pro-lottery effort is John Bailey, chief executive officer and manager of a Little Rock real estate company. Bailey has given a total of $375,000 to the lottery campaign.
Two groups have been formed to oppose the lottery measure, which would generate money for college scholarships for Arkansas students.
The Family Council Action Committee reported total contributions of $2,061 and total expenses of $2,021. The Arkansas Committee for Ethics Policy reported total contributions of $17,771 and total expenses of $4,179.
Halter said in May that the pro-lottery committee had gathered the signatures of more than 77,468 registered voters, the minimum necessary to get the measure onto the November ballot. He said the petition drive will continue in hopes of obtaining more than 100,000 signatures before July 7, the date when the petitions must be turned into the secretary of state’s office.
The largest expense reported by Halter’s group was more than $338,000 paid to National Voter Outreach Inc., a signature-gathering firm based in Nevada.
