NOTE: As provided in LFC policy, this report is intended for use by the standing finance committees of the legislature.  The Legislative Finance Committee does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information in this report when used in any other situation.

The LFC is only preparing FIRs on bills referred to the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Ways and Means Committee, the House Appropriations and Finance Committee and the House Taxation and Revenue Committee. The chief clerks are responsible for preparing and issuing all other bill analyses.

Only the most recent FIR version, excluding attachments, is available on the Intranet. Previously issued FIRs and attachments may be obtained from the LFC office in Room 416 of the State Capitol Building.

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Legislative Finance Committee Files

New Mexico Lottery Authority (NMLA)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of SPAC Amendments

The SPAC amendments change the proposed the background and fingerprinting provisions of the bill. The NMLA and the Department of Public Safety (DPS) are required to develop policy and procedures to require background checks, including the fingerprinting of all board members and prospective employees. DPS is prohibited from providing criminal history information to the NMLA. The amendments also stipulate that convictions of felonies or misdemeanors contained in federal bureau of investigations (FBI) records are to be used in accordance with section 6-24-18 NMSA, 1978. That section prohibits anyone who has been convicted of a felony or gambling related offense under state or federal law being a lottery board member, employee, lottery vendor or lottery retailer. Other information contained in the FBI record can be used as a basis for the denial of employment, if supported by independent evidence. The NMLA is required to pay the costs of obtaining FBI records. The DPS is required to implement these provisions by July 1, 1999.

Fiscal Impact of SPAC Amendments

Neither the NMLA nor DPS reported that any of the proposed changes would have a fiscal impact.

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 271 makes the following administrative changes to the lottery act:

• •The vice-president for security and the employees assigned by him as security agents are required to be commissioned by the lottery board as peace officers with full powers of arrest in the performance of their duties. Peace officers are required to obtain certification pursuant to the provisions of the Law Enforcement Training Act.



• •The department of public safety is authorized to accept and process fingerprints, if requested by the lottery authority, for an examination of a criminal history background and to exchange state, multi-state and federal criminal history records with the lottery authority. The lottery authority is permitted to install and use a national crime information computer terminal for the purpose of conducting the background investigations required by the New Mexico Lottery Act, provided such practice is permitted by federal law.



• •Lottery employees are allowed to select the winning entries at public lottery prize drawings, provided they have prior written approval from the lottery's chief executive officer and vice president for security. Currently, employees are prohibited from doing this. Lottery board members are still prohibited from selecting winning entries.



• •The provisions requiring that all drawings be open to the public and witnessed by the lottery's internal auditor (or his designee) are amended. If the drawing is for a prize of more than $5 thousand, the bill requires that they be conducted and videotaped by the security division. But drawings for prizes of less than $5 thousand are exempt from those requirements if prior approval is given by the chief executive officer and the executive vice-president for security.



• •The provisions requiring the lottery authority to adopt rules, policies and procedures to conduct fair and equitable drawings and establish a system of verifying the validity of tickets claimed to win prizes is amended to:

• •clarify that until a ticket is signed it is owned by the bearer of the ticket, but once signed it is owned by the person who signed it. This provision provides a disincentive for stealing lottery tickets.

• •relieve the lottery authority of responsibility for lost or stolen tickets.



• •It liberalizes the prohibition against lottery board members and staff accepting gifts; now employees would be prohibited from accepting a gift having a value greater than $20.



• •It makes it unlawful to steal, knowingly posses or attempt to redeem stolen lottery tickets. Violation of these provisions would be a fourth degree felony if the value of stolen tickets is less than $2,500, and a third degree felony if greater than $2,500.



• •The bill carries an emergency clause, making its provisions effective on adoption.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

There are not obvious fiscal implications related to the bill. To the degree that it makes the lottery easier to administer, it may have an impact on the lottery's administrative costs.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The lottery authority has reported that the provisions in the bill will significantly improve the lottery's operations.

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