Speaker of the House Philip Gunn has created a Lottery Study Commission to indicate the true ramifications of a potential lottery in Mississippi.
Don’t let the study commission initiative fool you, Speaker Gunn has not changed his opposing stance to a state lottery.
“I have been clear that I do not support a lottery,” said Speaker Gunn. “I have not changed my mind. I do not believe a lottery is based on sound economic policy, and it violates a number of conservative Republican principals.”
The purpose of the study group is to gather information to show that a lottery is not the windfall that it claims to be. Speaker Gunn said in all this time he has not had a single person, in support of the lottery, provide him with any documentation that it is a good thing.
He organized a meeting with members and charged them with examining a series of questions in the following categories as they relate to the lottery:
- background issues
- operational issues
- social issues
- economic issues
The members of the council include:
- House Gaming Chair Rep. Richard Bennett
- Rep. Nick Bain
- Rep. Chris Johnson
- Rep. Mac Huddleston
- Rep. Cedric Burnett
- MS Gaming Commissioner Allen Godfry
- Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs
- PEER Director James Barber
- On an as-needed basis, Special Assistant to the Attorney General and Counsel to the Mississippi Gaming Commission Lou Frascogna.
