Tribe’s slots bid killed House upholds veto of Indian Island effort

AUGUSTA – After being vetoed Tuesday afternoon by Gov. John Baldacci, a bill to allow the Penobscot Nation to operate slot machines at its Indian Island high-stakes beano facility was effectively killed when lawmakers upheld the governor’s decision.

The House vote was 94-49, which was less than the two-thirds vote needed to override Baldacci’s veto.

In vetoing LD 701, Baldacci restated his position that an expansion of gambling must be approved by voters through the signature-gathering and referendum process.

“My opposition to the expansion of gambling in Maine is well-documented and unwavering,” Baldacci said in a press release announcing his veto. “In my view, such expansions must gain the approval of Maine’s voters via the signature-gathering and referendum processes.”

The bill would have allowed the Penobscots to operate 100 slot machines at its Indian Island high-stakes beano facility during beano events.

The legislation had been carried over from last year’s session, when the Penobscots said their gaming revenues had taken a hit from the Hollywood Slots racino a few miles down the road in Bangor. The Bangor facility, owned by Penn National Gaming Inc., was approved by voters through a 2003 referendum.

The Penobscots intended to use the revenues, among other things, to support gambling addiction services, schools and Maine tribes not licensed to operate slots. In addition, the Penobscots aimed to use some of the proceeds to help reach the tribe’s goal of providing an appropriate level of services for tribal members.

The Senate passed the measure last Thursday by a vote of 23-12 after the original proposal for 400 slots was reduced to 100. Later that day, the House passed it 98-34.

In his veto message Tuesday, the governor said, “While I recognize that LD 701 proposes a more modest expansion than prior proposals have, that should not alter the process. Gambling expansions of any size and scope so alter the fabric of the State that all of its citizens, not just the elected members of the Legislative and Executive branches, deserve an opportunity to be heard.”

Baldacci went on to encourage supporters of the bill to go to referendum and let voters decide if they want to approve the bill.

“That is how expansions of gaming have traditionally been brought forward,” he wrote. Allowing an exception “sends Maine down a perilous path, fraught with risk of unfair, arbitrary treatment among future gaming proposals.”

During the House debate over whether to let the veto stand, some lawmakers said they agreed that gambling decisions should be left up to voters. Last fall, Maine voters turned down a proposal by the Passamaquoddy Tribe to build and operate a casino and harness racing track within a larger recreational complex in Calais.

But others said allowing the slots on Indian Island was a matter of fairness to the Penobscots.

“What gives us the right to tell them no?” said Rep. Sheryl Briggs, D-Mexico. “Don’t they have their own government?”

Lawmakers dealt with a separate gambling proposal this session. They rejected a Rumford-based group’s petition-driven initiative to allow a casino in Oxford County, assuring it will go to a statewide referendum in November.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

adolloff@bangordailynews.net

990-8130