MAINE VOICES: Rep. Gary Moore, R-Standish

Racino stalled by state inaction

Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rep. Gary Moore, R-Standish, is a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs. To top of story

As the Maine harness racing season swings into full gear, Maine horse stables and agricultural fair meetings are abuzz with questions about when the Bangor Racino will be up and running.

Unfortunately, for all those individuals who had every reason to believe that the facility would be open this year, it does not look like that scenario will come to fruition.

As I see things progressing, or not progressing, the stark reality is that this facility may never be operational.

Gov. Baldacci and his anti-gambling allies may have successfully duped the harness racing industry. The governor vigorously campaigned against the referendum measure; but when it passed, he pledged he would honor the citizens' vote.

Apparently he forgot that pledge, or simply, the pledge carried the same weight his "no new taxes" pledge carried as he signed into law $200 million worth of tax and fee increases.

It appears the passage of the citizen's initiative and his pledge has not stopped Baldacci's efforts to derail the Racino. Shortly after the voters approved the racino, the governor sponsored legislation radically changing the law voters approved.

The governor should not continue ignoring the 272,394 supporting votes the racino initiative garnered.

To put that total into perspective, in 2002 the governor only received 238,179 votes, or 34,215 fewer than Question 2.

Apparently befuddled by the issue's complexity, the governor presented an incompetently drafted amendment to the referendum. Rather than embark on a vigorous plan to translate the voters' will into law, Baldacci and his staff adopted a "make us do it" stance.

While posturing that they were "respecting the legislative process," the governor's energies went towards strategies aimed to subvert the passed legislation.

The Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee faced the task of correcting the imprecise and contradictory proposals of the governor. Cognizant of the absolute necessity of having stiff regulations in place, the committee made significant progress in drafting a plan to translate the people's vote into reality.

The bill was finalized in committee with the intent of the racino being up and running as quickly as possible with stringent safeguards in place. The bill was approved by the Legislature.

It appears now, however, that the Legislature's goal of having a facility operating quickly under strict regulations is being circumvented by the Baldacci ad- ministration.

The final bill included language that created a Gaming Control Board to regulate slot machine gambling. A specific task of that board is to license racino operators by Sept. 30, 2004.

This date was included intentionally by the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee to dissuade the governor and his allies from continuing to delay the implementation of the voters' will.

But their meeting this deadline appears to be problematic.

When inquiring about why the board had not accepted any license applications, I received a runaround.

Representatives from Maine's harness racing industry have rallied to try to save the citizen's initiative. Instead of having to take the time to do that for the survival of their industry, Maine's horsemen and women could have better spent their time preparing for the busy spring racing season.

The Standardbred Breeders of Maine saw a significant positive spike in the number of breedings to Maine stallions this past spring - investment in a Maine industry and a Maine tradition.

The increased activity was, no doubt, in anticipation of the increased earnings potential for the industry as a result of financial support from the Bangor slots.

But, in the end, this new investment and potential source of economic growth may be thwarted by the state. Gov. Baldacci appears to be intent upon proceeding with his delay-and-defeat strategy.

Unfortunately, delaying the implementation of the racino may kill any chance of the Maine equine industry from surviving.

- Special to the Press Herald

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