In a 34-34 tie vote, the Idaho House has defeated the budget bill for the state Lottery Commission. The problem? “An objection to the use of children in advertising the lottery,” according to Rep. Anne Pasley-Stuart, D-Boise, who led the opposition. “The objection is not to the lottery or to the funding, but to the exploitation of children,” Pasley-Stuart said. “The use of children to advertise … gambling is reprehensible.”

Pasley-Stuart said she objected to the use of photographs of children in classrooms in the state lottery’s annual report, alongside touts of how much money the lottery raised for schools. She wants the budget bill rewritten to include just one change: Prohibiting using children to advertise or promote the lottery. Rep. Dennis Lake, R-Blackfoot, served notice of possible reconsideration after the vote, so the measure, SB 1197, still could come back up. It earlier passed the Senate on a 29-4 vote.

---

---