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Lottery for scholarships campaign has raised $437,850 Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Despite declaring in mid-May he had the necessary signatures to qualify his proposed constitutional amendment for the November ballot, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter's campaign to create a state lottery spent nearly $100,000 on signature-gathering for the month. Halter's Hope for Arkansas campaign for a lottery to fund college scholarships raised $77,500 in May and paid National Voter Outreach Inc. of Ludington, Mich., $97,678 to gather signatures, according to a financial report the campaign filed Monday with the state Ethics Commission. The outlay for canvassing was the bulk of the $106,331 the campaign reported spending last month. To date, the lottery campaign has raised $437,850 and spent $437,393- most on signature gathering - leaving $29,288 on hand at the end of the month. John and Patricia Bailey of Little Rock contributed $75,000 in May to the campaign, bringing their total contributions to $375,000. Coulson Oil Co. of North Little Rock contributed $2,500 in May. On May 13, Halter announced he had surpassed the 77,468 signatures needed to place the proposed constitutional amendment on the Nov. 4 general election ballot. The lieutenant governor said he hoped to collect more than 100,000 signatures before the July 7 deadline. National Voter Outreach was hired to collect the signatures for the measure. Last week, Hope for Arkansas spokesman Bud Jackson said no decision had been made on when the signatures would be submitted to the secretary of state's office. The Arkansas Committee for Ethics Policy, a group opposing Halter's state lottery proposal, reported Monday it raised $1,970 and spent $200 in May. Since it was formed, the committee has raised $17,771 and spent $4,179, leaving $13,592 on hand. The Family Council Action Committee, which is collecting signatures to get an initiated act on the ballot to ban unmarried couples from adopting or becoming foster parents, reported raising $12,505 and spending $8,722 in May. The group has raised $42,019 and spent $38,692 to date in support of the adoption measure, leaving $3,326 on hand. Placing an initiated act on the November ballot requires 61,974 signatures of registered voters. Secure Arkansas, a group seeking to placed a proposed initiated act on the ballot to make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to obtain public benefits, reported raising $1,390 and spending $1,465 in May. The group has raised $2,145 for the campaign and spent $1,725. |
