California Senate passes bill to give more lottery funds to schools

The Californian Senate has approved a bill that aims to maximise lottery funds for state education.

US.- California has approved a bill proposed by Senator Bill Dodd (Democrats) to ensure schools in the states receive the maximum possible funding form the lottery.

Bill 818 was approved with 38 votes in favour and 0 against. It will now pass to the Assembly.

The bill requires lotteryofficials to make a study before August 2022 to determine the best award payment rate in order to maximise the amount of money that will be assigned to public education.

In addition, it requires the lottery’s director to recalculate the rate at least once every five years while mandating the lottery commission use the optimal payout rate to set its budget.

Senator Dood said: “My bill analyzes lottery prize amounts to ensure the largest possible share for education. It will help us find the sweet spot between money coming in and going out, to bolster funding that is needed now more than ever.

“At a time when the coronavirus has strained finances at California schools, getting them the most money from the lottery is critically important.”

Sonoma County superintendent of schools, Steve Herrington said: “Schools in California are chronically underfunded, to the detriment of our students. This bill would help address that by ensuring that state lottery funds go to their intended recipient — the students of California.”

California state‘s lottery has given more than $37bn to public education since its founding in 1985. In 2019, the state donated $1.8bn to schools. By law 87 per cent of the lottery’s revenue needs to be given back to the state.