A proposal aimed to shore up New Mexico’s struggling lottery scholarship program was halted in the House.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted 5-8 on a “do-pass” motion on Senate Bill 180 Tuesday, which halted the bill’s progress.

The legislation, approved by the Senate on a 29-12 vote last week, would require the New Mexico Lottery Authority to provide $41 million a year for college scholarships. It would also remove the requirement for the lottery to funnel 30% of its monthly revenue to the state college scholarship program to allow the lottery to spend more money on advertising and promotion, draw in more players and offer bigger prizes, said Senate Finance Chair John Arthur Smith, the bill’s sponsor. That, in turn, could lead to an increase in lottery revenue and more money for scholarships.

“What we’re attempting to do is maximize the bottom line to the state for lottery scholarships,” said Smith.