INDIAN ISLAND – Gov. John Baldacci is going against his word by saying he will veto the Penobscot Nation’s proposal to operate slot machines on Indian Island and not agreeing to move an amended bill to referendum without a citizen-initiated petition, according to Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis.

“We spent months cultivating the amendments to please him,” Francis said Tuesday. “We see eye to eye on a lot of things. I just don’t get where he’s coming from on this.”

The amended bill, approved by a legislative committee on Monday, was a compromise that decreased the proposed number of slot machines from 400 to 100 and reduced the hours of operation.

The typical way to get a referendum question on the ballot is through a citizen-initiated petition, which requires a certain number of signatures of registered voters.

Francis said Tuesday that one of the reasons the bill was amended and carried over from the previous legislative session was because Baldacci said he would agree to send it to referendum without the required signatures.

“His office asked us to carry it over,” Francis said. “The bill was reformulated for what our needs are here, as well as the current political palate.”

David Farmer, a spokesman for Baldacci, said Tuesday that the bill was held over to await the results of the referendum regarding the Passamaquoddy Tribe’s proposal to operate a gaming facility in Washington County. If that referendum had passed, Baldacci would have reconsidered the Penobscots’ request, Farmer said.

“I think the referendum last year was a pretty clear indication that the public doesn’t support the expansion of gambling,” he said.

Francis said it’s not fair to compare the Washington County proposal with what the Penobscots are trying to accomplish.

Since Baldacci took office, gambling has increased in Maine and its revenues are used to fill gaps in the state budget, Francis noted.

“With what has happened over his term, it’s just hypocritical to say, ‘I’m against gaming,'” Francis said. “Gaming has done nothing but grow over the last four years in Maine.”

Farmer said that the added lottery games, such as Powerball, weren’t really an increase because that type of gambling already occurred here.

“We’ve had the lottery for years and [Powerball’s] essentially a new game,” Farmer said. “We understand that the tribes would like slot machines. We don’t think it’s good economic development.”

The Penobscot slots bill passed the Senate 20-15 and the House 98-40 last year. As of Tuesday, 12 of the 13 members of the Legislature’s Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee had elected to support the amended proposal. The final committee member still had about 24 hours to indicate his position.

“I think we’re looking at a very favorable vote,” Francis said.

But that vote likely won’t matter. Baldacci’s office said Tuesday that the governor’s position on gambling expansion still stands and he intends to veto the bill if it is approved by the Legislature.

Francis said the Penobscots are seeking to get back a right that they once had. There used to be slot machines on Indian Island, just as there once were slots at fraternal organizations throughout the state, including VFW and Legion halls.

The Penobscots have operated their licensed high-stakes bingo game for the last 30 years and market primarily to out-of-state clients.

“This bill is still talking about compromise,” Francis said. “What we’re looking for at this point is to be able to address the essential service needs here. They’re talking now about 100 machines and operating only on bingo weekends. That’s fine. That will help, I think. And then in a couple of years we can readdress the issue.”

The slot machines would provide a source of revenue not only to the tribe, but also to the state’s General Fund and other organizations, Francis noted.

He said the Penobscots intend to let the bill run its course in the Legislature. But Baldacci’s promise to veto the measure is expected to bring a costly referendum process that Francis said could have a price tag of up to $2 million.

“Ultimately, we decided they needed to go through the same process,” Farmer said.

If a proposal goes to referendum, it likely will look different from the current bill before the Legislature, but Francis didn’t offer any examples of what the differences might be.

“It’s frustrating that in a system where majority is supposed to rule, that it never seems to go that way on this issue,” he said.