Alfond, Haskell: No lotto purchases with state money

AUGUSTA — Senate Democratic Leader Justin Alfond and Sen. Anne Haskell, the ranking Democratic Senator on the Health and Human Services Committee, released the following statements regarding a report that indicated Mainers receiving public assistance have won $22.4 million in lottery prizes from 2010 to 2014.

“What people do with taxpayer money is everybody’s business,” said Sen Alfond. “State assistance is meant to help Mainers put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads, cover medical expenses and keep up with the bills — not to be spent on lottery tickets. It’s a complicated problem, but we need to do everything we can to ensure TANF and SNAP funds are being used appropriately.”

“Our state is full of generous people who don’t mind providing a hand up when their neighbors are going through a rough spell, but that hand up shouldn’t be used on lottery tickets,” said Sen. Haskell. “I would love to slam the door on any use of EBT funds to buy lottery tickets. We need to address this situation in a way that protects taxpayer dollars while ensuring no one who still needs a little help loses it unnecessarily.”

Alfond and Haskell said they would explore the kind of commonsense legislative solutions that have been enacted in other states to ensure that Mainers who win big lottery windfalls do not continue receiving unnecessary state assistance.

###