SAN FRANCISCO - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will propose a plan to privatize the California State Lottery, an administration spokesman said yesterday.
Details were not available at press time. The lottery proposal will be announced formally Monday when Schwarzenegger releases his "May revise" budget proposal for fiscal 2008.
"This isn't being proposed as a budget balancer for 07-08; it's on a separate track," H.D. Palmer, Schwarzenegger's finance spokesman, said yesterday. "It certainly has the potential for significant fiscal benefits to the state over the long haul."
There has been a great deal of discussion around the country over the potential application of public-private partnerships toward state lotteries, generally involving states granting a lease or concession to operate the lottery in return for a substantial upfront payment.
None of the discussions have yet translated into an actual lottery concession deal, with such plans falling by the wayside this year in the Colorado, Texas, and Indiana legislatures.
The California State Lottery was created by a state ballot initiative in November 1984.
The lottery reported about $3.6 billion in sales for fiscal 2006. After issuing $1.9 billion in prizes and spending $413 million on administration, it distributed about $1.3 billion to the state's education system. (c) 2007 The Bond Buyer and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.bondbuyer.com http://www.sourcemedia.com