HARRISBURG – Centre County state Rep. Scott Conklin released the following statement based on Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s decision to reject Gov. Tom Corbett’s pending contract to privatize management of the Pennsylvania Lottery:
“I wholeheartedly support Attorney General Kane’s decision. From the get-go, I felt the process was faulty and the deal was plagued with red flags. The Corbett administration tried to circumvent any legislative or regulatory review, not to mention disregard any consideration of constitutionality.
“We just came off banner years of sales and profits in the billions. What was the rush to give all that away? The lottery system was not broken, is still not broken, so there’s no need to fix it.
“Figures from an independent study show selling off this asset is a lose-lose situation for Pennsylvanians. Numbers I’ve received indicate the deal with Camelot Global Services would cost the state $12 billion over the 20-year contract. That translates into hundreds of workers out of a job and seniors kicked out of prescription-drug programs, all while lining the pockets of a company that’s not even made in the USA.
“In addition to signing on to a lawsuit that challenges the Corbett administration’s authority, I am supporting a plan that would provide an additional $120 million to senior citizens’ programs while keeping the Pennsylvania Lottery intact. This would be made possible by utilizing the record growth in lottery profits that we have seen in recent years.
“If you watch the lottery drawing on television, what do you hear every time at the end? Benefiting older Pennsylvanians every day. I intend to keep it that way,” Conklin said.