Arkansas Lottery Executive Director Ernie Passailaigue hit the ground running on his first official day on the job. Passailaigue, who has been involved in the process since legislators began crafting lottery legislation, told members of the Commission that the word “failure” is not in his vocabulary and all he thinks about these days is bringing in revenue to get Arkansas students in college.

The Commission took one of many steps toward generating lottery revenue that will ultimately fund college scholarships for Arkansans by adopting Passailaigue’s recommendation to join the Multi State Lottery Association (MUSL) and Powerball. Passailaigue told commissioners that the state could be participating in the combined large jackpot and cash game by mid to late December.

Passailaigue told the Commission that at least 90% of lottery jobs will go to Arkansans and that those accepting positions must be willing to dedicate six months of their lives to getting the lottery up and running. Passailaigue also told the Commission that he wants to bring two of his employees from the South Carolina lottery to operate as lottery V.P.’s in Arkansas with a salary of $225,000. He said of the two hires, “There will be a lot of heart-burn over this.”

Commission Chairman Ray Thornton and Lottery E.D. Passailaigue will appear before the Arkansas Lottery Commission Legislative Oversight Committee Thursday to provide lottery updates. The legislative committee will also review the Lottery Commission’s operating budget and a request for pool positions.

State prisons chief Larry Norris testified today before a state legislative subcommittee that the Arkansas Department of Corrections is not in a state of emergency and reiterated his previous statement made before legislators that managing prisons “is a problem business.”

Norris addressed pending investigations into a string of recent incidents that have garnered a great deal of negative publicity for the Department of Corrections and the state. Norris told legislators and members of the audience that many of the issues were a result of complacency on the part of prison guards. While discussing the circumstances behind the escape of two inmates on May 29, Norris said, “The truth of the matter is we just got beat that day.”

Members of the subcommittee and other legislators present repeatedly called for greater accountability and several asked why all members of the Board of Corrections were not present for the meeting. Rep. Davy Carter told Director Norris, “From the outside looking in, it looks like nobody is watching the hen house.” While the majority of representatives and senators at the meeting directed their questions and comments toward Director Norris and the Department of Corrections, Sen. Jim Luker noted that the legislature’s role regarding corrections legislation and oversight should not be forgotten.

Director David Guntharp, Department of Community Correction, was also present to present an update on recidivism rates and rehab programs in the state. Subcommittee Chairman Sen. Bobby Glover told members there is a very good chance the subcommittee will be meeting regularly for some months.