Lotto Lobbyist Robbie Wills

Michael Wickline with the Arkansas Democrat Gazette finds a gem in the Secretary of State’s filing this week. Former Speaker of the House Robbie Wills’ disclosure that he now represents Arkansas lottery vender, Intralot, Inc.

Why is that a big deal?  Well, for starters as Speaker, Robbie Wills played perhaps the largest role in constructing how our current lottery is set up and operates.  He was responsible for appointing three of the original commission members including current Lottery Commissioner Mike Malone.  And then there is this from Wickline…

In May 2009, Wills initially told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the dozen legislators on the oversight committee were barred from lobbying for lottery interests for two years in Act 606 of 2009.

But when informed by the newspaper that no such provision could be found, he said he misspoke. He said he would propose legislation in the 2010 session to create a cooling-off period for lawmakers on the oversight committee after they leave office before they would be allowed to begin lobbying for lottery interests.

Wills said Thursday that he “didn’t pursue the idea in the 2010 fiscal session because at the time I was no longer on the lottery oversight committee and was focused on running for Congress."

“I’m honored to be a part of the Intralot team and look forward to helping keep the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery successful,” he said.

Yeah…