|
Thursday, December 11, 2003
Baldacci holds firm on racino deadline
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||||||||
 |
Also on this page: Slot Machines in Maine | |||||||||
AUGUSTA — Gov. John Baldacci set the stage for a legislative battle Wednesday when he proposed amending Maine's racino law without changing the Dec. 31 deadline for communities to decide they are willing to host a racino. Key Republican lawmakers from southern Maine said the deadline is unfair to constituents who voted for racinos on Nov. 4, expecting that Scarborough Downs would operate a gaming facility somewhere in the region. The law allows harness tracks to install slot machines only after getting approval from local voters. Bangor voters approved a racino, a harness-racing track that includes slot machines, on June 10 and Capital Seven LLC, which sponsored the statewide referendum last month, already has a contract with the city to open a racino at Bangor Raceway. But Scarborough voters have refused to allow Scarborough Downs to install slots there, and the Downs is now trying to persuade voters in Westbrook and Saco to accept a racino. Saco and Westbrook both have local racino referendums scheduled Dec. 30. If both communities say no at that time and the Dec. 31 deadline for local action remains in place, that would seem to leave Scarborough Downs with no options, forcing the track to abandon its plans for a racino. That prospect concerns Republican leaders in the House of Representatives, who boycotted a news conference Baldacci held Wednesday to provide an overview of his reform legislation. Democratic leaders in the Senate and the House and the Republican leader in the Senate all attended the news conference, signaling that Democratic lawmakers and some Republican legislators support Baldacci's plan, at least in broad terms. The governor's bill would create a five-member Gambling Control Board to license and regulate slots. It also would establish a process to limit the number of slot machines statewide and require that racino promoters compensate the state for administrative costs and possibly for lost lottery revenues. "The people have spoken," said Baldacci, who opposed racinos during the election campaign. "I respect their wishes and will implement their wishes." But Baldacci said he also must "protect the public interest and welfare of our state," and the racino law enacted by the voters has too many holes in it to fulfill that goal. "If we don't get our arms around this at the beginning, we never will," Baldacci said. The governor's bill, which is still being drafted, would allow the state to suspend racino licenses when warranted, require that a specific percentage of slot-machine revenues be paid back to players in the form of winnings, tighten the eligibility rules for getting a racino license and deny racino operators a tax break for slots that businesses get when they invest in other types of equipment and machinery. Other provisions of the governor's bill would make it harder to transfer ownership of harness tracks, increase the state's power to oversee and investigate racinos, require that racino employees and vendors be licensed, and require that racinos continue to provide harness racing as long as they operate slot machines. "If the initiated bill (approved by voters) is allowed to stand, it will be the least regulated piece of gambling legislation in America," Baldacci told reporters. "We, as public officials, must make sure (gambling) is tightly controlled," Baldacci said. He said he will send a letter to racino promoters "putting them on notice that we intend to control the gambling industry as closely as anywhere else in America." The governor will submit his bill to the Legislature early next month, in time for lawmakers to get to work on it as soon as the 2004 legislative session begins Jan. 7. Baldacci said his bill, if approved as drafted, would be effective retroactively, so it would apply to anything that happens between now and then. For example, the governor has urged the state Harness Racing Commission not to grant any licenses when it meets next week. Baldacci said nothing at the State House news conference about changing the Dec. 31 deadline for municipal action, and with good reason. Lee Umphrey, Baldacci's spokesman, confirmed later that the governor's bill would keep the Dec. 31 deadline, despite opposition from GOP leaders in the House. "We think voters in southern Maine had an expectation when they voted for the legislation (that) they voted for the possibility of a track in southern Maine with a gaming option," said Rep. David Bowles, R-Sanford, the No. 2 Republican in the House. Bowles fears it may not be possible to find a home for a racino in southern Maine by the end of the month. Robert Tardy, a lobbyist for Scarborough Downs, said it could be catastrophic for Scarborough Downs if the Legislature fails to change provisions of the racino law that require quick local approval and limit where a racino may be located. But Tardy, a former legislator, predicted the Legislature will tackle those issues, even if the governor's bill does not. Umphrey said Baldacci wants to keep the Dec. 31 deadline because "he wants to get this done and keep everyone's feet to the fire." Umphrey agreed with the assessment offered by House Speaker Patrick Colwell, D-Gardiner, that it would be wrong to push back the Dec. 31 deadline because that is an important and plainly stated provision of the referendum that voters approved last month. "The rules that were in the referendum are the rules that we have to live by," Colwell said. He said the governor and the Legislature should only change the law to "clarify what needs to be clarified," not to undo things that are clearly spelled out in the law, such as the end-of-year deadline for winning local approval for a racino.
Staff Writer Paul Carrier can be contacted at 622-7511 or at: pcarrier@pressherald.com
|
||||||||||
