AUGUSTA (AP) – Gov. John Baldacci vetoed a bill Tuesday to allow slot machines on Indian Island, saying it has not gone before voters, and lawmakers upheld the governor’s action on a proposal that’s been around since last year.

The House voted to sustain Baldacci’s veto by a 94-49 tally, less than the two-thirds majority needed to override.

The bill would have allowed 100 slot machines on the Penobscot Indian reservation near Old Town, a reduction from the 400 slots envisioned in the original bill.

The bill was carried over from last year’s session, when the Penobscots said their Indian Island gaming revenues had taken a hit from the Hollywood Slots racino several miles away in Bangor. The Bangor facility, owned by Penn National Gaming Inc., was approved by voters through a 2003 referendum.

The tribe said it needed revenue from the Indian Island slots to pay for its programs and balance its budget. Revenues would have been allocated to a range of programs, including gambling addiction services, educational institutions and Maine tribes not licensed to operate slots.

In his veto message, Baldacci said his opposition to an expansion of gambling in Maine “is well-documented and unwavering,” and restated his belief that any expansion of gambling must be approved by voters through the signature-gathering and referendum process.

“Gambling expansions of any size and scope so alter the fabric of the State that all of its citizens, not just the elected members of the Legislative and Executive branches, deserve an opportunity to be heard,” Baldacci’s message said.

Allowing an exception “sends Maine down a perilous path, fraught with risk of unfair, arbitrary treatment among future gaming proposals,” he said.

During the House debate over whether to let the veto stand, some lawmakers said they agreed that gambling decisions should be left up to voters. Last fall, Maine voters turned down a proposal by the Passamaquoddy Tribe to build and operate a casino and harness racing track within a larger recreational complex in Calais.

But others said allowing the slots on Indian Island was a matter of fairness to the Penobscots.

“What gives us the right to tell them no?” said Rep. Sheryl Briggs, D-Mexico. “Don’t they have their own government?”

Lawmakers dealt with a separate gambling proposal this session. They rejected a Rumford-based group’s petition-driven initiative to allow a casino in Oxford County, assuring it will go to a statewide referendum in November.

AP-ES-04-15-08 1756EDT

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