Luck may run out for lottery ads, presidential primary

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Luckytown soon could be looking a little run down.

The mythical city that is home to Missouri Lottery winners is taking a hit in the proposed state budget.

House and Senate negotiators agreed Tuesday to cut the lottery's advertising budget by more than half for next fiscal year. The decision was among the first items addressed by conferees trying to settle on a final version of the budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The Missouri Constitution requires the legislature to pass a budget by Friday. Gov. Bob Holden had threatened to veto the budget unless lawmakers lessen the proposed cuts to such areas as education and social services by coming up with new long-term funding sources.

Although most of the Missouri Lottery sales are returned to players as prizes, 27.5 percent goes to education -- a projected $192.4 million for the next fiscal year, said lottery director Jim Scroggins.

But Scroggins said it could be difficult for the lottery to generate that much education funding if it reduces advertising. Scroggins says national research shows that every $1 spent on lottery advertising generates $10 in lottery sales.

In the 2002 fiscal year, the lottery received $8.25 million for advertising. This year that was cut to $6.25 million.

Lawmakers, noting that sales have remained fairly steady, decided that the lottery could make do with even less advertising money for next year.

The proposed budget for fiscal 2004 would reduce lottery advertising to $3.05 million. House members initially had sought an even larger cut but were persuaded by Senate negotiators to accept the roughly 50 percent reduction.

Tough calls

Sen. Wayne Goode, D-St. Louis, did so with some reluctance.

"It's one of those tough calls -- you don't know when you get to be counterproductive," Goode said.

Scroggins said the lottery may not show immediate sales losses from less advertising.

But "over time, it will in fact cut our sales and it will cut our profits," he said.

Legislative budget negotiators also agreed to eliminate the $3.7 million needed for Missouri's presidential primary, scheduled for next February.

But the effect of that cut is unclear.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Carl Bearden, R-St. Charles, said removing the money is intended to cancel the primary.

But a spokesman for Republican Secretary of State Matt Blunt said the only way to cancel the primary is to also delete the law that mandates it and prescribes that the state will pay the full cost. Separate bills to do that are pending in the legislature.

Unless the law also is changed, Blunt spokesman Spence Jackson said the state Office of Administration would be forced to find the $3.7 million needed for the primary from some other source in its budget.

Among other things, budget negotiators also agreed Tuesday to:

Eliminate funding for the state government's Washington office.

Delay the opening of a new state prison in Jefferson City by eliminating its startup funding. Construction is scheduled to be completed next spring, meaning the prison would sit vacant.

Eliminate funding for state family planning services.

Allow funding for a new four-person child-welfare ombudsman office, which would handle concerns related to the state's foster care system.

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