By:  Ratliff                                           S.B. No. 581

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to the cost of operation and administration of the state

 1-2     lottery.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Subsection (b), Section 466.355, Government Code,

 1-5     is amended to read as follows:

 1-6           (b)  Money in the state lottery account may be used only for

 1-7     the following purposes and shall be distributed as follows:

 1-8                 (1)  the payment of prizes to the holders of winning

 1-9     tickets;

1-10                 (2)  the payment of costs incurred in the operation and

1-11     administration of the lottery, including any fees received by a

1-12     lottery operator, provided that the costs incurred in a fiscal

1-13     biennium may not exceed an amount equal to 12 [15] percent of the

1-14     gross revenue accruing from the sale of tickets in that biennium;

1-15                 (3)  the establishment of a pooled bond fund, lottery

1-16     prize reserve fund, unclaimed prize fund, and prize payment

1-17     account; and

1-18                 (4)  the balance, after creation of a reserve

1-19     sufficient to pay the amounts needed or estimated to be needed

1-20     under Subdivisions (1) through (3), to be transferred to the

1-21     unobligated portion of the general revenue fund, on or before the

1-22     15th day of each month.

1-23           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 2-1           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-2     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-3     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-4     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-5     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.