Virginia Lottery Trust Fund

I hope that everyone had an awesome spring break and is getting back into the swing of things just in time for the Centennial festivities this week! College Republicans started off the 2nd half of the semester with Senator Mark Obenshain coming to speak at our weekly meeting.  One of the main issues he discussed with us was the budget dispute in Richmond, which will likely wrap up and close the session tomorrow.  A major point of controversy came in the efforts of the Senate Democrats to approve a budget that would re-route the distribution of lottery proceeds from funding education to use in the general fund.  Lt. Governor Bill Bolling tried to prevent the budget from passing the Senate by declaring that in order to re-route these funds, a 4/5's vote would be necessary.  His decision was initially overruled, however, a senior staff lawyer with the state agrees that routing the funds is unconstitutional.  The Examiner has the story here. Following this controversial decision, Senator Obenshain introduced Senate Bill 800, which sets up a Lottery Trust Fund to ensure that all revenue from the Lottery will be used directly for education as required by the Virginia Constitution.  In order for Obenshain's bill to be implemented, it must pass in the Senate, House of Delegates, and gain Governor Kaine's approval, as well.  The Daily News Record has the full story.  I personally hope that Senator Obenshain's bill will pass and require our lawmakers to uphold our state constitution when it comes to budget allocation.  Any of your thoughts/opinions regarding the situation are welcome!