Tribe’s racino bill gets first approval

AUGUSTA – The proposal to allow the Passamaquoddy Tribe to build and operate a racino and commercial racetrack in Washington Country got its initial approval Thursday in the House of Representatives without a recorded vote.

The House accepted the 12-1 recommendation by the Legislature’s Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee without debate. Another vote is likely next Tuesday when the Legislature next meets.

“We are over here lobbying hard,” Passamaquoddy Chief Richard Doyle said earlier this week. “We are feeling good after the committee vote.”

The proposal faces further votes in both the House and Senate. Under the state Constitution, the Legislature must approve an initiated bill without change or it goes to referendum.

The governor’s power to veto legislation is limited on initiated bills, in that the measure still goes to the voters at referendum even if the governor vetoes a measure and his veto is sustained.

In 2003, Mainers rejected by a 2-to-1 margin a proposal by Maine’s Indian tribes to build a casino in the state while approving a racino in Bangor by just fewer than 30,000 votes out of the nearly 515,000 that were cast.