Amendment 8: Should Missouri issue lottery ticket as funding source for veterans programs?

Missouri voters will get the chance to decide whether a new lottery ticket should be created to fund the state’s veterans homes, cemeteries and outreach programs.

Currently, profits from the Missouri Lottery go toward education funding. If voters approve the proposed measure, a new scratch-off would be created and all net proceeds from it would be deposited in the state’s Veterans Commission Capital Improvement Trust Fund.

“This is the least we can do for our veterans who served our country,” Rep. Sheila Solon, a Blue Springs Republican who sponsored the resolution, told the Star earlier this summer.

There are currently seven veterans homes in Missouri with roughly 1,350 beds. Meanwhile, around 1,900 veterans are waiting for accommodations.

The idea of creating a veterans lottery ticket has been stuck in the legislature for years out of fear that it would result in less money coming in from the lottery for education. But proponents believe the new ticket will bring in new customers, offsetting any potential loss in revenue.

If voters approve, Missouri will join a number of states that have implemented a similar funding source for their veterans. Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Texas have each raised between $10 million and $33 million for veterans since allocating a portion of lottery revenues to a veterans fund. But only in Texas was lottery revenue previously earmarked exclusively for education.

This story was originally published July 26, 2014 at 12:56 AM with the headline "Amendment 8: Should Missouri issue lottery ticket as funding source for veterans programs?."