The governor isn’t sure the bill is strong enough.
AUGUSTA – The House Monday overwhelmingly voted for legislation that would oversee the operation of racinos in Maine, including a 1,500-slot limit and a smaller share of the winnings to the owners of the track.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where it could be debated Tuesday.

Missing from the legislation is any hope for Scarborough Downs to open a racino in the southern part of the state. The bill will give the Scarborough racetrack an estimated $3.2 million a year by 2007, which is more than it will give for college scholarships.

Gov. John Baldacci on Monday questioned whether the regulations contained in the legislation are strong enough. The version passed by the House has regulatory language modeled on Louisiana law, which could prove “ineffective by taking too long to unveil theft and mismanagement,” said spokesman Lee Umphrey.

In last year’s election voters approved a referendum allowing slots at horse tracks, as long as the hosting community approved the racino by December 2003. Bangor voters approved a racino in June at Bangor Historic Raceway, but the state’s other racetrack, Scarborough Downs, was not able to get local approval by the deadline.

Scarborough Downs lobbied lawmakers to allow the track more time to find an interested host town, but lawmakers rejected the plea.

The original referendum language called for the track to keep 75 percent of its profits, with the state and the harness racing industry splitting 25 percent. The legislation approved by the House Monday proposes 61 percent for the track, owned by Penn National, and 39 percent split by the state, harness racing industry, agricultural fairs and off-track betting parlors.

“This bill compared to Q2 (referendum question 2) is not changed a lot,” said Rep. Joseph Clark, D-Millinocket, co-chair of the Legal and Veterans Committee. “People of Maine voted for this. Bangor voted for it. So let’s make it work.”

Fellow committee member Rep. John Patrick, D-Rumford, agreed. Whether someone is for or against gambling, “the citizens spoke,” Patrick said. The bill “does not allow a racino in southern Maine. This bill does not allow extra machines. … This ensures the stability of harness racing in Maine, an industry that’s been here 100 years.”

Rep. Donna Loring, who represents the Penobscot Nation, said the racino would not have happened without the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes bringing up their casino referendum, which was rejected last November 2-to-1. There was strong campaigning against the Indian proposal, but virtually none against the racino referendum.

With the racino law and Baldacci’s proposal to join the Powerball lottery, gambling is being expanded at the expense of the tribes, she said. “The irony is we were brave enough to bring this controversial issue forward, and in the end we got nothing.”

Rep. Kevin Glynn, R-South Portland, spoke against the version approved by the House. He favored different language that would give more money to “voter-approved programs,” including prescriptions for seniors and college students.

He also complained that the majority recommendation does not mandate a minimum number of race days as a condition of having slot machines. “What was the purpose of this? Was it to enhance racing or was it to have slot machines? The voters were talking about harness racing,” Glynn said.

Debate on eight amendments to the bill continued Monday evening, and the House rejected each one, including an attempt to eliminate or reduce money for Scarborough Downs and off-track betting, and to increase money for seniors’ prescriptions and college scholarships.
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