Governance
The Lottery is an independent agency, separate from the other branches of government. The department is governed by a five-member board, with each member appointed by the Governor to serve a five-year term. The board is authorized to adopt regulations governing the establishment and operation of the Lottery, including price points, the number of, and sizes, of prizes; prize payment, frequency of drawings, and licensing of, and compensation for, sales agents. The board also hears appeals on the denial, suspension, or revocation of retailers’ licenses.
The Lottery is headed by an Executive Director, who is appointed by the Governor. On February 1, 2008, then-Gov. Timothy Kaine appointed Paula Otto, a former spokesperson of the Lottery and an associate director of the School of Mass Communications at Virginia Commonwealth University, as the fourth executive director in the Lottery's history. Otto was reappointed by Gov. Bob McDonnell on November 5, 2010.
In Fiscal Year 2012, Lottery sales exceeded $1.6 billion. Of this total, the Lottery generated $487 million, or 30%, for public education, 59.3% was paid to players in the form of prizes, 5.6% was paid to retailers as sales commissions, and 4.8% covered the Lottery Department's operational expenses.
The Lottery conducts an annual Super Teachers contest. A Commonwealth-wide panel of educators select one Super Teacher from each of eight regions yearly. Each Super Teacher receives $2,000 credit from The Supply Room Companies to outfit their classroom, and $2,000 from the Lottery.
Read more about this topic: Virginia State Lottery
Famous quotes containing the word governance:
“He yaf me al the bridel in myn hand,
To han the governance of hous and land,
And of his tonge and his hand also;”
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?–1400)