Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 16, 1993 TAG: 9301160222
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
LOCALITIES SEEK LOTTERY FUNDS AGAIN
County and municipal officials said Friday they will urge legislators to share the state's lottery profits and keep a promise to return $20 million in real estate recordation taxes to localities.But they admitted that squeezing money out of a General Assembly worried about balancing the state budget will not be easy.
"In the real world, I don't think the climate is very good to get part of the lottery proceeds," said L.D. Oakes of Martinsville, president of the Virginia Municipal League.
In each of the last several legislative sessions, bills have been introduced to give a portion of the lottery profits to localities. The General Assembly always has been too strapped for cash to pass any of the bills.
There is little reason to believe that will change this year as the legislature wrestles with rising education, prison and Medicaid costs. Those programs make up the bulk of the $116 million in new spending Gov. Douglas Wilder has proposed in the last year of the two-year, $29 billion state budget.
Harry Daniel of Chesterfield County, president of the Virginia Association of Counties, said that "when the lottery concept was proposed, local governments were led to believe that the lottery profits would benefit both the state and localities. Unfortunately, that state-local partnership has not materialized."
Daniel said, "We believe it makes sense that lottery profits be shared with local governments since the dollars spent on lottery tickets would otherwise stimulate local economies either through retail sales or purchase of services."
Oakes said about 25 percent of the profits should go to localities.
Daniel also said his organization was disappointed that Wilder's proposed budget amendments call for another delay in returning the recordation taxes. Legislators first promised to distribute the money in 1989 but have kept the funds to balance the state budget.
"The 1992 General Assembly included funding in the budget to return recordation taxes to local governments beginning in fiscal year '94, and we think it's time they kept their promise," Daniel said.
On other matters, the county and municipal organizations said:
They support reduction of unfunded mandates from the state.
They favor broad interpretation of the legislative authority granted local governments to give them more flexibility to solve problems.