A few more lottery tidbits
I'm cranking out copy for the dead tree edition of the paper but here are a few things you might like to know about the lottery vote:
- This is the first time since 1996 that a Lt. Governor has voted to break a tie in the Senate. (If you really want to know: it then-Lt. Governor Dennis Wicker broke a tie regarding an amendment on a gun control related bill.)
- More history: In 1985, then-Lt. Governor Robert Jordan declined to break a tie on a lottery vote, dooming the bill.
- Locally, Sens. Katie Dorsett and Kay Hagan, both Greensboro Democrats, voted for the lottery. Sens. Phil Berger, Stan Bingham, Jerry Tillman and Hugh Webster, all Republicans, voted against.
- Gov. Mike Easley is scheduled to sign the lottery bill Wednesday at 11 a.m.
- A new commission will be set up to oversee the lottery. It's expected that it will take between four and six months to get the game running.