AG Says Gov. Corbett Can’t Privatize the Pennsylvania Lottery

Well, Harrisburg is going to be a lot more interesting now that Democratic Attorney General Kathleen Kane is around to keep an eye on Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. Today, she said Corbett overstepped his authority in outsourcing the Pennsylvania Lottery to a private company, Camelot Global Services. Simply put, she said, the governor’s decision violated several state laws.

And then she kept criticizing:

Kane also took a shot at the Corbett administration for applying pressure to get her to sign off on the contract by promising $50 million more for home- and community-based services for older Pennsylvanians in his 2013-14 state budget if the contract with Camelot was executed.

“Promising money to people in need based on a contract that is not legal and then blaming those entrusted to do their job correctly is both disingenuous and a perfect example of putting the cart before the horse,” she said.

At Philly.com, Amy Worden adds:

Kane, speaking at a press conference, said among other things the contract “usurps the power of the Gaming Control Board’s to regulate expanded gaming.”

“We review approximately 5,000 contracts a year, and while most are approved, we not rubber stamp any one of them,” Kane said, as cameras clicked away as she read her statement.

“We reviewed this contract with great care and with a focus on the law,” the attorney general said of the lottery privatization agreement. “The proposed contract contravenes the Pennsylvania constitution and is not statutorily authorized.”

That sound you hear? Dozens of Harrisburg reporters giggling as they realize how entertaining their jobs are going to be for the next two years.