Provides relative to the dedication of revenue from sports wagering. (7/1/26) (OR -$20,750,000 GF RV See Note)

Senate Bill 135 amends Louisiana Revised Statute 27:625(G)(2) to modify how revenue from the state tax on sports wagering net gaming proceeds is dedicated to the Louisiana Early Childhood Education Fund. Under present law, twenty-five percent of monies collected from the sports wagering tax are credited to the Early Childhood Education Fund, but this amount is capped at twenty million dollars annually. The proposed law removes this cap and instead requires that the greater of either twenty-five percent of collected proceeds or twenty million dollars be credited to the fund each fiscal year, effectively establishing a floor of twenty million dollars while allowing the amount to increase if twenty-five percent of tax proceeds exceeds that threshold.

This change directly affects the funding available to the Louisiana Early Childhood Education Fund, which supports early childhood education programs and initiatives throughout the state. In years when sports wagering tax collections are relatively modest, the fund will receive a guaranteed minimum of twenty million dollars. However, as sports wagering activity increases and tax proceeds grow, the fund will benefit from a larger allocation based on the twenty-five percent calculation, provided that percentage exceeds the twenty million dollar floor. State treasury operations will be affected by the modified distribution formula, as will any state agencies or local entities that receive allocations from the Early Childhood Education Fund for program implementation and services.

Senate Bill 135 operates within the regulatory framework established in Chapter 27 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, which governs gaming and wagering in the state. The sports wagering tax scheme and fund dedication structure are established in R.S. 27:625, which prescribes how the state treasurer must distribute tax revenues among multiple designated funds following compliance with other statutory requirements. The Early Childhood Education Fund itself is established under R.S. 17:407.30, part of Louisiana's education code. The bill's effective date of July 1, 2026, aligns with the state's fiscal year cycle and provides sufficient time for implementation of the modified revenue allocation methodology.