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Bill to write legislation too high, report says
AUSTIN, Texas - The Las Vegas law firm hired to write legislation that would have legalized video gambling in Texas has billed the state for $111,000 more than the contract allows, according to a report issued Wednesday by the state auditor's office. The report also faults the Texas Lottery Commission and the attorney general's office for lax oversight of the contract with the firm of Lionel Sawyer & Collins, which was hired late last year to develop the ill-fated legislation.
The 34-page report was the topic of a sometimes contentious hearing Wednesday before the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee during which several lawmakers peppered two top lottery administrators and the chief deputy attorney general with questions about their authority to hire the law firm.
Committee Chairman Kino Flores, D-Palmview, said the arrangement casts a shadow over the agency, which generates nearly $1 billion annually through a variety of games of chance.
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