House passes bill calling lottery bill again

<br>(Oklahoma City-AP) -- A bill calling for an election on creating a state-run lottery was approved by a narrow vote of the Oklahoma House Wednesday.<br><br>This is the final legislative step before

Wednesday, April 2nd 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- A bill calling for an election on creating a state-run lottery was approved by a narrow vote of the Oklahoma House Wednesday.

This is the final legislative step before the governor schedules a vote.

The House approved the measure, 52-to-49. The proposed lottery would be designed to increase funding for financially strapped public schools.

Governor Brad Henry has made creation of a lottery the focal point of his legislative program. He has he wants to schedule a vote this summer.

He has predicted a lottery could bring in $300-million a year that would be used for education purposes. Church groups and Republicans have opposed the idea of bringing the issue to a public vote, while Democrats have generally favored it.