S.B. No. 1988 proposes the complete abolishment of the state lottery in Texas, which involves significant amendments to the Government Code. The bill repeals Chapter 466, which governs the lottery, and removes references to the lottery in various sections, including eligibility criteria for commission members and the oversight responsibilities of the Texas Lottery Commission. As a result, the commission will no longer oversee lottery operations and will instead focus solely on bingo operations. The bill also outlines a transition plan for the dissolution of the lottery division, effective January 1, 2026, and mandates that any remaining lottery division funds be redirected to the state treasury for educational purposes.

In addition to the lottery-related changes, the bill introduces amendments concerning financial assistance programs, requiring the vital statistics unit to match death records with individuals receiving assistance to terminate eligibility for deceased individuals. It also includes provisions for reviewing out-of-state electronic benefit transfer card transactions to monitor changes in recipients' residences. The bill updates terminology related to the banking commissioner and removes references to the lottery division from certain definitions. Furthermore, it amends the Penal Code to clarify defenses against prosecution for specific conduct and repeals several sections of various codes, with the changes set to apply to offenses committed on or after the effective date of the Act, September 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Government Code 467.002, Government Code 467.024, Government Code 467.025, Government Code 467.031, Government Code 467.035, Government Code 467.101, Government Code 467.108, Government Code 467.111, Government Code 221.011, Government Code 434.017, Government Code 572.003, Government Code 2113.102, Penal Code 47.02, Penal Code 47.09 (Government Code 2113, Government Code 221, Penal Code 47, Government Code 467, Government Code 572, Government Code 434)