Damn I hate legal speak, what the hell are they saying exactly? No wonder people don't read these bill's, you have to be a freaking attorney to understand them.

So are they saying that the state takes anything above 600 dollars and they keep it and keep it for what exactly, to pay the state back for something? I'm lost.

Boo,

The bill says that nobody receiving any aid - food stamps, WIC, TennCare (I guess that's their health care) can receive over $600 in winnings. Anything over $600 will be an unclaimed prize.

It states that 100% of unclaimed prize money is earmarked for after-school programs.

I see this as a lose-lose situation for the State.

The state loses the ability to get someone off state-aid if they won over $600.

The states also loses lottery income.

I don't understand the purpose of this.

Officials with Tennessee Boys and Girls Club chapters hope lawmakers will give them some of the unclaimed prize money from the new state lottery.

The law that created the lottery requires that half of all unclaimed winnings go back into the prize pool at the end of each fiscal year, while the rest is placed in a special account for after-school programs.

The lottery legislation's House sponsor - Rep. Chris Newton, R-Cleveland - said deciding which after-school programs get the money is one of the "loose ends" the General Assembly must "hammer out" during the upcoming legislative session.

The first lottery tickets are expected to go on sale by Feb. 10.

Players will have 90 days to claim their scratch-off winnings and 180 days to cash in their online tickets, said Tennessee Lottery Corp. spokesman Will Pinkston.

"We found out the unclaimed prize money didn't have a designation," said Lisa Hurst, the vice president of development for the Boys and Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley. "We made sure to educate our legislators on how the after-school funding could help."

Hurst said the Boys and Girls Clubs was named as the designated organization at one point during the drafting of the lottery legislation but was taken out after some legislators objected.

"There are some areas in Tennessee that Boys and Girls Clubs are not housed, so they didn't want to just limit it to one program," she said. Eighteen Boys and Girls Clubs across the state serve 37,000 children, she said.

Newton said legislative advisers decided that naming a single after-school program in the lottery law would be "constitutionally suspect" and could open the door for potential lawsuits from programs not selected.

However, Newton said the Boys and Girls Clubs would be ideal. He estimated that half of each year's unclaimed prize money would amount to about $350,000.

"Not many folks with a winning ticket are going to let it sit on a shelf," he said. "This is not going to be any cash cow for an after-school program."

Newton said Tennessee lawmakers will designate one or more organizations to receive the unclaimed funds after seeking recommendations from the Department of Education.


that's all i found about it

You know, I thought that the lottery was to help schools where ever the lottery is allowed, however in TN, haven't been here long enough to know how it's applied. I still think there is something strange about this, if a person on assistance wins the lottery big time they should be able to keep it, after a certain amount you are off assistance, so it seems like stealing to me if you take that money away from them. Maybe I am missing the finer points. A bit tired and not absorbing it well.

I am a bit uncomfortable about people on food stamps etc spending money on the lottery. Call me naive but...

I feel that this will stigmatize poor people even more.

I think it's to discourage people on support from spending the money on lottery tickets. For every one person who wins, thousands don't and lose their money - only in this case, it's the taxpayers' money.

But...what if it's only a dollar a week or something like that?

I felt the need to jump in here for a minute. I think there are some people who don't realize not all people on assistance sit on their behinds and don't work. Boo, please don't think that's what I'm saying about you.
I worked as a deputy sheriff makin $1,700 a month gross. Because I had 3 children in the home I qualified for just under $200 in FS and medicaid. It wasn't much but it helped tremendously when you have a mortgage, utilities and vechicle insurance to pay out of a $1000 take home paycheck. There were many months I barely scraped by.
The point I'm tryin to get across is this. Don't judge a person because they are on assistance. Especially nowadays. I'm sure there are many people having to swallow their pride and walk into their nearest DHS office asking for help. If someone on assistance spends a $1 on a lottery ticket, I'm not gonna begrudge them one bit. If they were to win the jackpot, then they have just as much right as the next person to claim the entire prize. They can then get off assisitance, better their lives and those of their families. And let us not forget they will have to pay taxes on that money right off the top.

This reminds me of the Katrina survivors spending their FEMA money at strip clubs. Im torn..

How do you know it's taxpayer's money they're spendin on that $1 lottery ticket? What if they work and are only gettin FS or medicaid assistance? If that $1 is coming out of their earned paycheck how is that wrong? When someone is on assistance and still works for a living do you have the right to tell them how to spend their paycheck simply because they are on assistance?

Currently, state law requires that once prizes are officially unclaimed, half of the money goes to after-school programs; the other half will be used to offset future prize expenses. However, once new legislation takes effect, unclaimed prize money of up to $18 million will be used for after-school programs.

Ahhh... now I understand.

Because people are poor and receive some form of government assistance, they should not be allowed to ever buy a lottery ticket. Even though the new welfare reform laws require that citizens receiving 'food stamps' work or go to school full time.

So the tax dollars which are received by the government throughout the year from one who is working in order to receive the benefits are not being taken into account because the tax return of such an individual usually equals the amount previously paid in? sure the tax burden could be 0 for such a person, but the government does receive the interest accrued during the period.

What is next?

People receiving federal or state assistance will be made to provide proof of every dollar that they spend?

It is ridiculous to even consider such a thing.

It is unconstitutional.

You dont show id when you buy a lottery ticket. If you win give it to a family member not on assistance so they can collect the money.

Its not rocket science.

They can't do that. It's known who wins lottery tickets.

That misses the point.

They have no idea who wins. They might know where the ticket is sold, but they have no idea who bought it.

I think the key to this law is the word indigent.

def..lacking food, clothing, and other necessities of life because of poverty; needy; poor; impoverished.

I dont think a single mother working 2 jobs and getting a couple hundred dollars in food stamps meets the indigent standard.

Yes, that could be. But..where do they draw the line?