SB 3070 – Abolish Lottery Commission, Move Lottery to TDLR

SB 3070 eliminates the Texas Lottery Commission and hands over its duties to the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, aiming to improve transparency and accountability. The bill calls for a sunset review to evaluate whether the lottery should continue to exist past 2027. It prohibits selling lottery tickets online or through mobile apps, and caps physical ticket sales to 100 per transaction. This aims to curtail abuse, fraud, and exploitation, particularly of vulnerable and low-income Texans. The bill mandates annual audits, public disclosure of policymaking meetings, and strong documentation retention, strengthening financial oversight. It blocks automatic contract renewals and limits who can be licensed or employed based on criminal background and other risk factors. A new advisory committee will provide independent input on lottery operations. From a fiscally conservative standpoint, this bill helps to reins in a regulatory agency found to be corrupt and wasteful, curbs cronyism in vendor contracts, and positions the state to potentially end the lottery altogether. However, TFR recommends going a step further, and amending the legislation to end the lottery now, as the government-run Texas Lottery is not within the proper role of limited government, but rather a state-sanctioned gambling enterprise that preys on low-income Texans.