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November’s Ballot Would Have Only Citizen-Initiated Oxford Casino Proposal

Posted on April 4th, 2010

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The House decided Friday to overturn its previous vote to consider putting other gambling proposals on November’s ballot side by side with the citizens’ initiative for a casino in Oxford County. The House voted 83-59 to put off for an unspecified period any deliberations on casino bill L.D. 1808.

This move would mean that the citizens’ initiative for a casino resort in Oxford County backed by Black Bear Entertainment that wants to build the facility will be put alone on November’s ballot with no competing measure coming up against it.

The power lies in the Legislature whether to approve a citizen-initiated proposal as written, to reject it, or to suggest another proposal. If the Legislature rejects it, the bill is put on a statewide ballot. If an option is endorsed, the choice appears on the ballot as a competing measure alongside the first proposal.

The latest development happened two days after the House turned down in a vote committee report that recommended rejecting the Oxford proposal, and came as a result of the proposition of Rep. Pamela Jabar Trinward, D-Waterville, co-chairman of the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee in charge of gambling.

Rep. Stacey Fitts, R-Pittsfield, who backed the competing measure that would have allowed Hollywood Slots in Bangor to expand to table games and authorized a casino in Calais to be operated by the Passamaquoddy Tribe, in addition to a casino in Oxford county, did not approve of the House’s most recent decision. He said the vote not to consider a competing measure was delaying debates on gambling. “The issue, for me, is whether this Legislature has the guts to take on this issue, or would rather punt,” Fitts said during Friday’s debate.

Rep. James Martin, D-Orono also preferred considering a competing option. Martin did not pursue his earlier plan to conduct a study on gambling using Hollywood Slots with table games as an experiment. He said the gambling issue is as difficult to resolve as the issue of gay marriage, and urged his fellow lawmakers to give more time and effort in discussing the issue. Other Democrats like Rep. Linda Valentino, D-Saco, and Rep. Thom Watson, D-Bath were also in favor of another measure to compete with the citizens’ initiative so that expanded gambling may be made available through a bidding process under the supervision and control of the state.