Maine’s three tribes, which have been disappointed several times in recent years by the legislature, which failed to pass a bill that would allow them to offer gaming, have been included in a bill that would authorize a study to explore the feasibility of adding to the existing two commercial casinos in the state.
The bill was passed by the House and awaits action by the Senate.
The tribes that want to be allowed to add or begin gaming operations are the Houlton Band of Maliseets, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation.
Three bills that would have allowed more tribal gaming were killed in the House last month after being approved by the Senate.
The legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee then proposed LD 1856, which would study the feasibility of more casinos. The $150,000 study, which would be conducted by a gaming-consulting firm contracted by the state, is seen as a way to allow the more cautious representatives to make a move towards expanding gaming without committing them to a particular bill. Several lawmakers who voted against the three bills used that reasoning.
Some argue that the area could be overrun by casinos, with four planned in Massachusetts, and two commercial casinos already operating in Maine. Others contend that the voters approved the two existing casinos, without input from the legislature. They want that haphazard system replaced by a state run process for future casinos.
The tribes worked to be included in the study by name. Their non-voting representatives in the House proposed an amendment to rectify that omission. There are no non-voting Indian representatives in the Senate.
“By mentioning the tribes, we ensure our perspective is included,” said Rep. Henry John Bear of the Houlton Band of Maliseets, a non-voting member who was quoted last week by the Bangor Daily News. The amendment he and other non-voting members pushed would also authorize the governor to negotiate a state-tribal gaming compact. Senate Majority Leader Troy Jackson opposes that provision, saying the governor already has that ability.
Now that the bill is before the Senate, Linda Valentino says she would like an in-depth analysis rather than just a feasibility study. Maine Public Broadcasting Network (NPBN) quoted her as saying, “I think that if we’re spending $150,000 on a report, we need to do a full report on it, we don’t need to just stop at the market analysis.”
Senator John Patrick, who heads the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee responsible for gaming legislation, commented last week, “We will take the recommendations that are going to come forward and run with them, knowing that every entity, basically, that ever came to this hallowed body that wanted something done in the neighborhood of gaming will probably be finally resolved once and for all, once we have at least a baseline study.”
Some who support the right of veterans and fraternal groups to offer a limited form of gaming say that the bill discriminates against them.
Senator Garrett Mason wants them included. He told MPBN, “I think once you crack the door open for certain groups that other groups will start to come in, and in fairness would need consideration. For example, on a smaller scale, we had a bill that would have looked at creating slot parlors in all of the veterans’ organizations in the state. Veterans are not included in this amendment.”
