JOPLIN, Mo. — Since 1996, the Missouri Lottery has provided a dedicated stream of revenue for schools, meaning a portion of each scratcher ticket bought at convenience stores helps fund K-12 and higher education.
To date, the arrangement has raised nearly $4 billion for Missouri schools.
Next month, voters will consider whether they want to divert part of those lottery proceeds to support veterans.
Amendment 8 — one of several amendments to the state constitution on the ballot on Aug. 5 — asks voters to authorize the Missouri Lottery Commission to “develop and begin selling a ‘Veterans Lottery Ticket.’”
According to the measure, “all net proceeds received from the sales of such tickets shall be deposited solely into the (Missouri) Veterans Commission capital improvement trust fund.”
State Rep. Charlie Davis, R-Webb City, chairman of the House Veterans Committee, said he expects the measure to raise about $3 million each year. The money would be coupled with the state’s appropriation to the veterans commission — $8 million in this year’s budget — to help fund improvements at state veterans homes and cemeteries.
According to the Missouri Lottery Commission, 45 percent of lottery proceeds must be used for prizes, but currently, 64.7 cents of each dollar is used for prizes, while 24.5 cents goes to education, 6.2 cents is used for payments to retailers, and 4.6 cents for administration.
Local opposition
On Wednesday, Southwest Missouri Democrats, meeting in Joplin, came out against the proposal, noting that while they “fully support our veterans,” they have concerns about veterans competing with education for the revenue.
“We don’t like the idea of pitting education against veterans in the way that might happen with a lottery ticket,” said Elliot Dennison, a U.S. Navy veteran. “We don’t like the idea of leaving our veterans affairs funding up to chance in the way that it will be with an optionally purchased lottery ticket.”
The group, in its statement announcing the vote, said: “We want our Missouri veterans funding to be firmly enshrined in our state budget.”
Davis said he does not expect a steep decline for education funding if the measure is approved by voters.
Last year, the lottery brought in $228.8 million for education, and the $3 million that would go to veterans would remove just over 1 percent of that. Davis also thinks more people might play the lottery if they knew money was going to veterans, increasing overall revenue so that the impact on education might be even smaller.
“I have heard from so many people who have said they never bought a lottery ticket in their life, but they’d buy a veterans ticket,” he said. “I think there are people who’d buy a veterans ticket when they wouldn’t by a ticket otherwise.”
Funding realities
Davis said he would prefer to fund the Missouri Veterans Commission with more money from the state’s general fund, but he noted that general revenue is down this year, and because of that, he believes it is necessary to make available another revenue source.
The commission operates veterans homes in seven cities in Missouri, the nearest being Mount Vernon, and manages 1,350 beds that offer long-term skilled nursing care. It maintains a waiting list of veterans who need the services its homes provides.
The Missouri Veterans of Foreign Wars testified in favor of the bill, but several of the leading education organizations in the state, including the Missouri National Education Association, have not taken a public position on the amendment.
For Davis, it’s a question of funding realities.
“If the dollars aren’t there, we have to look for another source. The federal government is not doing anything as far as increasing funding,” he said. “The cost of business is going up for these veterans homes, so they are having a difficult time paying for everything. This will be a small thing that will help.”