AUGUSTA – Gov. John Baldacci is creating a committee to review the tax structure for slot machine revenues.

The executive order to form the panel was signed by Baldacci Friday following negotiations between the governor’s office, the Legislature and Penn National Gaming Inc., which operates the state’s only slot machine facility.

“Our goal is to make sure Maine has the most effective tax structure possible for this citizen-approved venture,” Baldacci stated Friday in a press release. “I don’t support gambling in Maine, and I don’t support its expansion. Nonetheless, we have an obligation to develop a regulatory environment that is predictable and stable. The people have said they want this. We have to try to make it work.”

Penn National halted construction last month on its $131 million facility in Bangor in response to a proposal to change the way its operation is taxed.

The proposed tax change is no longer under consideration by the Legislature, and work on the project has resumed.

The committee’s purpose is to explore ways to enhance stability for Penn National’s facility while also providing the state and other existing statutory beneficiaries the same revenues that would be collected under current law, according to the governor’s office. The goal is to enhance the effectiveness and stability of the current tax and revenue sharing requirements.

It is anticipated that the committee will examine, among other things, the current tax structure for the slot machine operator and potential adjustments to the methods by which it is taxed.

The Committee to Review the Taxation of Slot Machine Revenues will include at least seven members appointed by Baldacci, according to Friday’s press release. The seven will include one representative of the slot machine operator; one representative of the Gambling Control Board; the commissioner of the Department of Administrative & Financial Services, or her designee; the commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, or his designee; and three members of the public, one of whom must have a background in the gaming industry.

The Senate president may also appoint two members of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House may appoint two members of the House.

The committee, which has the authority to call on other experts as needed, will report its recommendations to the governor no later than Dec. 1.

A bill has been submitted for consideration during the next legislative session to include the recommendations produced by the committee.