AUGUSTA – A proposal to increase funding for the state’s gambling addiction program was rejected in a preliminary vote in Maine’s House of Representatives on Thursday.

 The House did, however, unanimously approve moving the program from the Department of Public Safety to the office of Substance Abuse in the Department of Health and Human Services.

 Lawmakers who opposed increasing funding for the program, from $50,000 to a proposed $250,000 by 2023, pointed to the fact that no one has signed up for gambling addiction help since the program was created in 2006.

 “We understand that no one has made use, since day one, of the gambling addiction program,” said state Rep. Linda Valentino, D-Saco, during floor debate. “We don’t have problem gamblers that have taken advantage of this and come into the system. So why are we increasing it from $50,000 to $250,000?”

 State. Rep. Mike Carey, D-Lewiston, who sponsored the bill, said the state has a responsibility to help gambling addicts and he was frustrated that no one was using the program’s resources.

 “The state of Maine gets about $70 million a year in the form of gambling revenue,” Carey said. “If there is a (gambling) problem that’s created, the state of Maine should be part of helping to fix that problem. Nobody’s using it and that is a statistic that has frustrated and infuriated the 13 members on the committee.”

 Carey said that by changing the agency in charge of the program, participation might increase.

“Zero (enrollment) means there is no attempt to go out and find people,” he said. “Zero means that there’s no mechanism to see if there’s a problem. If you had a gambling addiction problem, would you go to a cop or would you go to a doctor? This bill is premised on the idea that if you have an issue, you are probably going to go to a doctor or another health care professional.”

State Rep. Michael Beaulieu, R-Auburn, said Carey was right that the state should help people with gambling addictions, but they must be willing to ask for it.

“I personally recognize the value in extending a helping hand to those that find themselves in this situation, but I first want to be certain that this population to which we are extending the funding can be accurately identified and be willing to come forward and apply for the assistance,” Beaulieu said.

Valentino, who serves on the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee with Beaulieu and Carey, agreed that the Office of Substance Abuse should have jurisdiction over the program, rather than the Department of Public Safety.

 “This is a good bill,” the Saco lawmaker said. “I am for this bill, but I am against the funding portion of this bill. Let’s see if there is a problem. And then, as every other department and every other line item, let’s let them go before the Appropriations Committee in two or three or four years and prove that there is a problem and get additional funding, as everybody else does.”

Rep. Sawin Millett of Waterford, the top Republican serving on the Appropriations Committee, also rose in opposition to the increased funding.

 “We in this chamber ought to express our appropriations support only related to the needs demonstrated and resources available,” he said.

 Valentino added that Hollywood Slots in Bangor had done a good job of providing its own services to gambling addicts, such as creating a list for non-entry into their slot machine facility.

 “We thought there was going to be a big problem at Hollywood Slots,” she said. “There is no problem with Hollywood Slots.”

 The funding increase was defeated handily, with 106 lawmakers voting against it and 33 voting for it.

 The House and Senate will schedule further votes on the legislation.

 rmetzler@sunjournal.com

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