State Rep. Kim Hammer raised some interesting questions for Attorney General Dustin McDaniel in the form of an official opinion request.
In short, was it legal for former Lottery Director Ernie Passailiague’s to unilaterally rewrite a contract with a lottery vendor, Scientific Gaming? Was it legal for the Lottery Commission to renegotiate that contract?
Is a civil lawsuit possible to recoup any of the money lost in lottery profits from the higher payments made to the vendor?
McDaniel said a review of state contracts is outside the power of his office’s review function. Here’s the full opinion.
Yes, but doesn’t the attorney general sue private parties all the time for taking advantage of the state, such as drug companies?
What’s the diff?
Others, I know, are looking into the question of whether legal action is worth pursuing here. Could Ernie P. write his own contracts? Does a cleanup of the contract months later really validate any illegal payments made in the interim? They sould like good questions to me.