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Gov. Mills Shoots Down Tribal Gaming Bill in Maine
By Jeff Osienya Jul 01, 2021 LegalityThe governor of Maine vetoes the state’s legislative attempt to win back Indian gaming rights for the state’s four federally recognized tribes. Read on to discover why Maine remains the only US state where tribal gaming is a no-show.On Wednesday, Governor Janet Mills of Maine vetoed LD 554, a bill that sought to give the state’s federally recognized Native American Tribes authority to open brick-and-mortar casinos and operate other gambling businesses within their tribal lands. Governor Mills decided to reject LD 554 hours before it would have passed into law without her signature, indicating that it was “inconsistent with IGRA,” the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.
The measure which would have allowed the tribes to offer Class I, II, and III gaming had received solid bipartisan approval in the Legislature and was okayed on June 17th before heading to the governor’s desk. LD 554 was passed in the House via a 97-40 vote while the Senate had endorsed it in a 22-13 majority vote. However, unfortunately for the tribes, none of those votes met the two-thirds threshold that would have otherwise been enough to override the governor’s ‘nay’ on the measure.
Gov. Mills wrote a long 4-page veto message outlining that the gaming bill was packed with issues that needed to be addressed before the tribes could have a crack at gambling in their lands. In the veto briefing, she said that she disallowed the LD 554 bill because:
Quote“This bill provides no predictability or meaningful limitations on where tribal gaming may occur, or on the size of each facility. The tribal gaming facilities that the legislation would authorize could be large or small, anything from a grand casino to a few slot machines in a convenience store, and the state and adjacent non-tribal communities would have little or no influence over their placement.”
The veto message also outlined the fact that the bill hadn’t addressed the taxes that the tribes would pay to the state, among a slew of other deal-breakers such as state-regulated health and safety protocols.
Further, the governor cited the case of how the two commercial casinos that currently exist in The Pine Tree State initially never received support or approval before the public vetted their planned locations and operations. After getting the necessary support from voters in referenda, the two casinos are now situated in Oxford and Bangor. Oxford Casino is owned and operated by Kentucky-based Churchill Downs Inc, whereas Hollywood Casino Hotel & Raceway Bangor is owned by Pennsylvania-based Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Penn National Gaming.
Wounds From A Four-Decade Row Between the Tribes and the State Reopen
There are four federally recognized tribes in Maine; the Passamaquoddy, the Maliseet, the Penobscot, and the Micmac, all who are under a larger tribal group known as the Wabanaki. The governor’s signature on LD 554 would have restored the federal gaming right that the state stripped from the tribes in 1980 in a law enacted after settling a land dispute between the state and the four tribes.
The 1980 law known as the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act closed a legal battle over who owns about two-thirds of the land in The Pine Tree State. Following the ratification of the act in 1980, Maine’s Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Penobscot Nation, and the Passamaquoddy Tribe were awarded $81.5 million to acquire close to 300,000 acres for investing in their communities.
Even though the IGRA came 8 years later, the land-settlement ruling meant that Maine’s four tribes were left out of the equation and weren’t allowed to enjoy the Indian gaming rights that other 570 federally recognized tribes were given across the USA. Maine therefore remains the only US state where federally recognized tribes don’t enjoy gaming exclusivity.
Maines 1980 settlement has been the cause of decades of sovereignty disputes and jurisdictional over gambling between the state and the tribes. And on top of gambling, the 1980 law has also been a cause for legal clashes about matters such as fishing rights and environmental regulation.
Of course, the only way to change this gambling quandary is through a legislative process that keeps failing. LD 544 had introduced 22 amendments to the 1980 act to give the tribes the gaming sovereignty axed 40 years ago. And while Governor Mills is known to have a strong anti-gambling stance, it also doesn’t help that the tribes have tried wooing voters to assist them in getting their gambling rights back but have failed several times. Interestingly, the same voters who have been rejecting the tribe’s efforts to win casino gaming rights have voted in favor of constructing the state’s two commercial casinos on two different referendum questions!
Tribal Leaders Fire Back at the Governor With Harsh Words
After the governor’s veto on Wednesday, Maine’s tribal leaders came guns blazing to criticize the governor for her actions. According to a report by the Portland Press Herald, Chief Maggie Dana of Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point said:
Quote“Governor Mills provides lip service to wanting to engage on tribal issues. However, if she thought they were important she would meet with tribal leaders to discuss updating the (1980) Settlement Act more than two times over the last two years. Governor Mills missed a great opportunity to catch up with the other states that work with the other 570 federally recognized tribes.”
Chief Charlie Peter-Paul of the Aroostook Band of Micmac was quoted criticizing the governor’s veto to the tribal gaming bill despite its wide legislative support saying:
Quote“The tribes are merely asking to be able to determine their communities’ futures. They should have that right on their native lands. The Legislature understands this. The people of Maine understand this. The governor and the large corporate gaming operations in Maine clearly don’t.”
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