Racino bill now a numbers game

By MARK PETERS, Portland Press Herald Writer

Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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AUGUSTA — Some not-so-simple math may determine whether Maine voters get the final word this fall on a proposed racino in Washington County.

The numeric issue revolves around Gov. John Baldacci's promise to veto the racino proposal if either the House of Representatives or the Senate fails to approve it by a two-thirds majority.

The issue of whether to let Maine's American Indian tribes build a racetrack with as many as 1,500 slot machines Down East has dogged the governor for days.

Baldacci vetoed a bill last week that would have allowed the racino without requiring a referendum. Now he faces a similar plan, this time with a statewide vote in November included.

The House met Baldacci's two-thirds threshold earlier this week. But the Senate, in two separate votes, fell short of the so-called super majority, with the closest vote, 21 to 11, coming Thursday.

The anti-gambling group Casinos No! says the bill clearly needed 22 votes to get the super majority. Although a third Senate vote will happen today, Valerie Landry of Casinos No! said everything so far points to a veto by Baldacci.

The vote "is close, but it doesn't come to two-thirds," said Landry, who pointed out that two of the three senators who were absent Thursday voted against the racino referendum earlier this week.

But the Baldacci administration was looking at whether the latest Senate vote was close enough. Mathematically, the 21 votes was 65.6 percent of the 32 voters, not quite 66.7 percent. On the other hand, two-thirds of 32 is 21.3

"There are people who interpret it as two-thirds," said Sen. John Martin, D-Eagle Lake, who voted for the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Brennan, D-Portland, who opposed the bill, said legislative bodies would require 22 votes to reach a two-thirds majority of those present and voting.

But he added that the threshold in this case is not a legal matter, and Baldacci could decide that 21 votes is close enough.

The Baldacci administration was looking at the issue Thursday evening, according to Lee Umphrey, an aide to Baldacci.

Umphrey said the governor's office had not come to a conclusion on how it will interpret the Senate's vote. Baldacci said through his press secretary, Lynn Kippax: "The vote today in the Senate showed strong support for the Washington County racino."

After the third Senate vote on the referendum proposal, the proposal will end up on Baldacci's desk for a final decision, likely based on the governor's interpretation of what a two-thirds vote is.

If the governor does veto the bill, the House and Senate will need two-thirds majorities to override it.

It is unclear how lawmakers would cast their votes if that happened.

Staff Writer Mark Peters can be contacted at 623-1031 or at:

mpeters@pressherald.com