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New Carolina Senators Feel Pressure on Lottery

NORTH CAROLINA – As reported by the North Carolina News Observer: "Back home in Jacksonville, state Sen. Harry Brown has answered 50 or so phone calls about a proposed lottery. When he gets back to his legislative office today, he said, he has at least 200 more calls to return.

"Everywhere Sen. Ellie Kinnaird of Carrboro goes, she said, people thank her for breaking ranks with Democratic leaders and opposing the lottery.

"And for the past week, another Democrat, Sen. Charlie Albertson, said he has had to do a lot of explaining about his stance against the lottery back home in Duplin County. At one point, he even had a lottery supporter interrupt his meal at a restaurant.

"Before the legislature took a break Aug. 13, it was thought that lottery supporters only needed one more vote to win a key vote in the state Senate. As legislators return for what could be their final week, it's unknown whether they've found it.

"…Earlier this year, a lottery bill cleared the state House. The new state budget has language spelling out how lottery advertising would work and allows lottery proceeds to cover programs now paid for by tax revenue.

"This is the closest the state has come to approving a lottery since 1983. If the Senate approves the same bill as the House, all that would be left is for Gov. Mike Easley, a lottery supporter, to sign it into law.

"But as a vote on the lottery neared in the Senate, Republicans, who hold 21 seats, pledged as a group to oppose it. Five of 29 Democrats also refused to vote for it, despite strong support from both Easley, a Democrat, and the Senate Democratic leadership…"

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