HP1091, LD 1520, item 2, ‘An Act To Allow the Passamaquoddy Tribe To Operate a Casino in Washington County in Conjunction with High-stakes Beano’

Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:

‘An Act To Allow the Passamaquoddy Tribe To Operate a Casino in Washington County in Conjunction with High-stakes Beano’

Amend the bill by striking out all of section 1 and inserting the following:

‘Sec. 1. 8 MRSA §1011, sub-§2-C is enacted to read:

2-C. Passamaquoddy Tribe eligible for license to operate a casino. Notwithstanding subsection 2-B, the board may accept an application from the Passamaquoddy Tribe for a license to operate a casino at a gaming facility in Washington County at which high-stakes beano is conducted by the Passamaquoddy Tribe.

Sec. 2. 8 MRSA §1018, sub-§1-A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 699, §2, is amended to read:

1-A. Fees for slot machine and casino operator licenses on or after September 1, 2012. Notwithstanding subsection 1, paragraphs C and C-1, beginning September 1, 2012, an applicant for a slot machine operator license or a casino operator license must pay a $250,000 nonrefundable privilege fee to be submitted with the application for the license and a minimum license fee, or cash bid if the license is part of a competitive bidding process established by law, of $5,000,000. This subsection does not apply to a casino licensed for operation in the State as of September 1, 2012. This subsection does not apply to a casino licensed for operation by the Passamaquoddy Tribe under section 1011, subsection 2-C.’

Amend the bill in section 2 in subsection 7 in the 3rd line from the end (page 1, line 17 in L.D.) by striking out the following: " slot machines" and inserting the following: ' a casino'

Amend the bill in section 2 in subsection 7 in the last 2 lines (page 1, lines 18 and 19 in L.D.) by striking out the following: " those slot machines" and inserting the following: ' a casino'

Amend the bill in section 5 by striking out all of subsection 1 and inserting the following:

‘1. Distribution for administrative expenses of board. A slot machine operator licensed under section 1011, subsection 2 or , a casino operator licensed under section 1011, subsection 2-C or a casino operator that is a commercial track that was licensed to operate slot machines under section 1011, subsection 2 on January 1, 2011 shall collect and distribute 1% of gross slot machine income to the Treasurer of State for deposit in the General Fund for the administrative expenses of the board. ’

Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 6, 7 and 8 and inserting the following:

‘Sec. 6. 8 MRSA §1036, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2013, c. 118, §1, is further amended to read:

2. Distribution of net slot machine income from casino with commercial track and from casino operated in conjunction with beano. A slot machine operator licensed under section 1011, subsection 2 or , a casino operator licensed under section 1011, subsection 2-C or a casino operator that is a commercial track that was licensed to operate slot machines under section 1011, subsection 2 on January 1, 2011 shall collect and distribute 39% of the net slot machine income from slot machines operated by the slot machine operator or casino operator to the board for distribution by the board as follows:

A. Three percent of the net slot machine income must be deposited to the General Fund for administrative expenses of the board in accordance with rules adopted by the board, except that of the amount calculated pursuant to this paragraph, the following amounts must be transferred annually to the Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund established by Title 5, section 20006-B:

(1) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2011, $50,000;

(2) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2012, $50,000; and

(3) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013 and for each fiscal year thereafter, $100,000;

B. Ten percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded by the board to the Treasurer of State, who shall credit the money to the fund established in section 298 to supplement harness racing purses;

C. Three percent of the net slot machine income must be credited by the board to the Sire Stakes Fund created in section 281;

D. Three percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded by the board to the Treasurer of State, who shall credit the money to the Agricultural Fair Support Fund established in Title 7, section 91;

E. Ten percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded by the board to the State Controller and except as otherwise provided in this paragraph credited to the Fund for a Healthy Maine established by Title 22, section 1511 and segregated into a separate account under Title 22, section 1511, subsection 11, with the use of funds in the account restricted to the purposes described in Title 22, section 1511, subsection 6, paragraph E. For the fiscal years ending June 30, 2010, June 30, 2011 and June 30, 2012, the amount credited annually by the State Controller to the Fund for a Healthy Maine under this paragraph may not exceed $4,500,000 annually and any funds in excess of $4,500,000 annually during these fiscal years must be credited as General Fund undedicated revenue, and, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, the amount credited by the State Controller to the Fund for a Healthy Maine under this paragraph is $0;

F. Two percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded by the board to the University of Maine System Scholarship Fund created in Title 20-A, section 10909 and to the Board of Trustees of the Maine Maritime Academy to be applied by the board of trustees to fund its scholarship program. The slot machine income under this paragraph must be distributed as follows:

(1) The University of Maine System share is the total amount of the distribution multiplied by the ratio of enrolled students in the system to the total number of enrolled students both in the system and at the Maine Maritime Academy; and

(2) The Maine Maritime Academy share is the total amount of the distribution multiplied by the ratio of enrolled students at the academy to the total number of enrolled students both in the system and at the academy;

G. One percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded by the board to the board of trustees of the Maine Community College System to be applied by the board of trustees to fund its scholarships program under Title 20-A, section 12716, subsection 1;

H. Four percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded by the board to the Treasurer of State, who shall credit the money to the Fund to Encourage Racing at Maine's Commercial Tracks, established in section 299; however, the payment required by this paragraph is terminated when all commercial tracks have obtained a license to operate slot machines in accordance with this chapter, in which case, that 4% of the net slot machine income must be credited to the General Fund as undedicated revenue;

I. Two percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded by the board to the Treasurer of State, who shall credit the money to the Fund to Stabilize Off-track Betting Facilities established by section 300, as long as a facility has conducted off-track wagering operations for a minimum of 250 days during the preceding 12-month period in which the first payment to the fund is required. After 48 months of receiving an allocation of the net slot machine income from a licensed operator, the percent of net slot machine income forwarded to the Fund to Stabilize Off-track Betting Facilities is reduced to 1% with the remaining 1% to be forwarded to the State in accordance with subsection 1; and

J. One percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded directly to the municipality in which the slot machines are located.

Sec. 7. 8 MRSA §1036, sub-§2-A, as amended by PL 2013, c. 118, §2, is further amended to read:

2-A. Distribution from casino of slot machine income. A casino operator shall collect and distribute 46% of the net slot machine income from slot machines operated by the casino operator to the board for distribution by the board as follows:

A. Twenty-five percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded directly by the board to the Treasurer of State, who shall credit the money to the Department of Education, to be used to supplement and not to supplant funding for essential programs and services for kindergarten to grade 12 under Title 20-A, chapter 606-B;

B. Four percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded by the board to the University of Maine System Scholarship Fund created in Title 20-A, section 10909 and to the Board of Trustees of the Maine Maritime Academy to be applied by the board of trustees to fund its scholarship program. The slot machine income under this paragraph must be distributed as follows:

C. Three percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded by the board to the Board of Trustees of the Maine Community College System to be applied by the board of trustees to fund its scholarships program under Title 20-A, section 12716, subsection 1;

D. Four percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded by the board to the Treasurer of State, who shall distribute the funds to the tribal governments of the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe;

E. Three percent of the net slot machine income must be deposited to the General Fund for administrative expenses of the board, including gambling addiction counseling services, in accordance with rules adopted by the board;

F. Two percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded directly to the municipality in which the casino is located;

G. One percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded by the board to the Treasurer of State, who shall credit the money to the Agricultural Fair Support Fund established in Title 7, section 91;

H. One percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded by the board to the Treasurer of State, who shall credit the money to the fund established in section 298 to supplement harness racing purses;

I. One percent of the net slot machine income must be credited by the board to the Sire Stakes Fund created in section 281;

J. One percent of the net slot machine income must be forwarded directly to the county in which the casino is located to pay for mitigation of costs resulting from gaming operations;

L. Beginning July 1, 2013, 1/2 of 1% of the net slot machine income must be forwarded by the board to the Treasurer of State, who shall credit the money to the Maine Milk Pool, Other Special Revenue Funds account within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to help fund dairy farm stabilization pursuant to Title 7, sections 3153-B and 3153-D; and

M. Beginning July 1, 2013, 1/2 of 1% of the net slot machine income must be forwarded by the board to the Treasurer of State, who shall credit the money to the Dairy Improvement Fund established under Title 10, section 1023-P.

If a recipient of net slot machine income in paragraph D, H or I owns or receives funds from a slot machine facility or casino, other than the casino in Oxford County , a casino operated by the Passamaquoddy Tribe or the slot machine facility in Bangor, then the recipient may not receive funds under this subsection, and those funds must be retained by the Oxford County casino operator , except that if a casino operator license is issued to the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the distribution of slot machine income under paragraph D due to the Passamaquoddy Tribe must be deposited in the Coordinated Veterans Assistance Fund established in Title 37-B, section 514.

Sec. 8. 8 MRSA §1036, sub-§2-C, as amended by PL 2013, c. 128, §1, is further amended to read:

2-C. Distribution of table game income from casino with a commercial track or from casino operated by Passamaquoddy Tribe. A casino operator that is a commercial track and was licensed to operate slot machines on January 1, 2011 or a casino operator licensed under section 1011, subsection 2-C shall collect and distribute 16% of the net table game income from table games operated by the casino operator to the board for distribution by the board as follows:

A. Nine percent of the net table game income must be deposited to the General Fund for administrative expenses of the board, including gambling addiction counseling services, in accordance with rules adopted by the board;

B. Three percent of the net table game income must be deposited to the Gambling Control Board administrative expenses Other Special Revenue Funds account, which is a nonlapsing dedicated account;

C. Two percent of the net table game income must be forwarded directly to the municipality in which the table games are located; and

D. Two percent of net table game income must be deposited into the Coordinated Veterans Assistance Fund established in Title 37-B, section 514.

Sec. 9. 17 MRSA §314-A, sub-§3, as repealed and replaced by PL 1991, c. 426, §4, is repealed.

Sec. 10. 17 MRSA §314-A, sub-§3-A, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. I, §5 and affected by Pt. X, §2, is repealed.

Sec. 11. 17 MRSA §314-A, sub-§3-B, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 410, §1, is repealed.

Amend the bill in section 9 in the question in the first line (page 5, line 10 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "slot machines" and inserting the following: 'a casino'

Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.

summary

This amendment, which is the minority report of the committee, authorizes the Passamaquoddy Tribe to be licensed to operate a casino in Washington County at a gaming facility where high-stakes beano operations have been authorized, unlike the bill, which authorized only a slot machine facility. Current law provides that if a recipient of slot machine revenue from the casino in Oxford is authorized to conduct its own slot machine facility or casino, any slot machine revenue distribution reverts back to the Oxford Casino. The amendment provides that distributions lost to the Passamaquoddy Tribe due to authorization to operate a casino would instead be deposited to the Coordinated Veterans Assistance Fund. The bill provides that slot machine revenue distributions from a casino operated by the Passamaquoddy Tribe are the same as distributions from the casino in Bangor. The amendment provides that distributions of table game revenues from a Passamaquoddy casino also mirror the distributions from the casino in Bangor. Finally, the amendment removes any restrictions on the dates on which federally recognized Indian tribes in the State authorized to conduct high-stakes beano may operate high-stakes beano games.

HP1091 LD 1520	Session - 126th Maine Legislature C "A", Filing Number H-630, Sponsored by		LR 1211 Item 2
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