An Act To Fund Commuter and Passenger Rail Transportation in Maine
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1344
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: CHIPMAN, PATRICK, CROCKETT, SHAW
Amends: 8 MRSA §1036, 23 MRSA §4210-B, 23 MRSA §8003

Legislative Document 
No. 1344 
H.P. 985 
House of Representatives, March 29, 2011 
An Act To Fund Commuter and Passenger Rail Transportation in 
Maine 
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative CHIPMAN of Portland. 
Cosponsored by Senator PATRICK of Oxford and 
Representatives: CROCKETT of Bethel, SHAW of Standish. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  8 MRSA §1036, sub-§2-A, as enacted by IB 2009, c. 2, §45, is 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; 
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; and 
K.  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 Department of Agriculture, 
Food and Rural Resources to fund dairy farm stabilization pursuant to Title 7, section 
3153-B.; and 
L.  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 State Transit, Aviation and 
Rail Transportation Fund established in Title 23, section 4210-B. 
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 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. 
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §4210-B, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 457, Pt. GGG, §3, 
is amended to read: 
3.  Use of funds.  The money deposited into the STAR Transportation Fund must be 
used for the support of the activities of the STAR Transportation Fund to manage transit, 
aeronautics and rail transportation; except that money credited to the fund from slot 
machine revenue in accordance with Title 8, section 1036, subsection 2-A must be 
segregated and used to support the capital and operational costs of passenger rail service 
as described in section 8003, subsection 1-A. 
Sec. 3.  23 MRSA §8003, sub-§1-A is enacted to read: 
1-A.  Establishment of service between Portland and Oxford County.  The 
authority is directed to take all actions that are reasonably necessary to initiate, establish 
or reinitiate regularly scheduled passenger rail service between points within the State 
and Oxford County.  These actions may include, but are not limited to, the acquisition, 
holding, use, operation, repair, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, modernization, 
rebuilding, relocation, maintenance and disposition of railroad lines, railway facilities, 
rolling stock, machinery and equipment, trackage rights, real and personal property of 
any kind and any rights in or related to that property. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the distribution of revenue from the operation of slot machines at 
the casino in Oxford County.  It strikes the percentage of revenue to be distributed to the 
Sire Stakes Fund and to supplement harness racing purses.  The bill takes the 2% that 
would have gone to those 2 funds and dedicates it to the State Transit, Aviation and Rail 
Transportation Fund for the purpose of developing passenger rail service between points 
within the State and Oxford County.