Winning the final pass can be a long road, but the Senate Education Committee tentatively approved a plan on Wednesday to create a commission to run a state lottery to help fund public education in Hawaii.

The lottery could be running as early as January 1, 2023, but Senate Bill 816 leaves it up to the five-member commission to set the rules and determine exactly how the game plays out.

At least 45% of the lottery revenue would go into prizes, while 40% would be distributed among the University of Hawaii system, the public school system and the general state fund, according to the bill.

Today Hawaii and Utah are the only two states without any legalized form of commercial gambling, although Hawaii allows small-scale “social” gambling as long as there is no “home” that exists. works and takes advantage of games.

The lottery proposal likely faces a politically difficult task, as Governor David Ige, Speaker of the House Scott Saiki, and Speaker of the Senate Ron Kouchi have all declared themselves against the game.

The bill was also strongly opposed by Honolulu District Attorney Steve Alm, who said in written testimony that lotteries historically derive most of their income “from people with an educational and socio-educational level. lower economic levels ”, including ethnic minorities.

He also argued that lotteries “fuel the problems of excessive gambling”, citing research from the UK.

“Despite the substantial difficulties in leading Hawaii’s economic recovery in the years to come, since the first global pandemic in over 100 years, the department strongly urges lawmakers not to give in to the temptation to introduce deleterious industries. – although lucrative – such as legalized gambling in communities in Hawaii, ”Alm wrote.

The Honolulu Police Department and the Hawaii Family Forum also opposed the lottery plan.

Superintendent of Schools Christina Kishimoto took no position on the bill, but noted that Ige proposed budget cuts for the Department of Education totaling $ 270 million over the next two years, including “labor savings” which could take the form of teachers’ leave.

“Our public schools cannot support these dramatic cuts, while simultaneously ensuring the provision (a) of a quality public education system, Kindergarten to Grade 12,” Kishimoto said in a commentary on the law Project. It is essential that in the coming months a way is found to consolidate the funding of education, she wrote.

Kalbert Young, chief financial officer at the University of Hawaii, also took no position on the bill, but noted that the UH system has a backlog of deferred maintenance projects that totals more than $ 500 million. dollars.

Only a handful of individuals, including Lynn Murakami-Akatsuka, have testified in favor of the measure.

“I am very happy that the legislature is presenting this bill as a ‘think outside the box’ funding strategy to deal with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Murakami-Akatsuka.

The members of the task force as well as the director of the lottery would be appointed by the governor and subject to confirmation by the state Senate.

Senator Donna Mercado Kim was the only member of the Senate Education Committee to vote against the bill. Kim said Wednesday night that she had supported gambling proposals in the past, but favored games that would bring new money to the state.

“My understanding of the lottery is that it tends to be the community, the local community that plays the lottery and not the tourists,” in part because tourists have access to lotteries with bigger jackpots in their country. original, she said.

A spokesperson for the Hawaii State Teachers Association said the union’s board of directors and its government relations committee had not taken a position on the lottery.

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