An Act To Recognize and Provide for the Right of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians To Operate a Casino on Houlton Band Trust Land Exempt from Certain Gaming Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1447
Committee Amendment CA_A_H437 (House)
Amends: 8 MRSA §1018

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 999, L.D. 1447, Bill, "An Act To 
Recognize and Provide for the Right of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians To Operate 
a Casino on Houlton Band Trust Land Exempt from Certain Gaming Laws" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Authorize the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians To Operate a Tribal 
Casino' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of the emergency preamble (page 1, lines 1 to 17 in 
L.D.) 
Amend the bill in section 1 in subsection 2-C by striking out all of the last sentence 
(page 1, lines 25 to 27 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 'The applicant is required to 
acknowledge that the operation of a casino licensed under this chapter is subject to the 
oversight and enforcement of the board. 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 1 the following: 
'Sec. 2. 8 MRSA §1018, sub-§1, 1C-l, as amended by PL 2011, c. 417, §4, is 
fmther amended to read: 
C-1. The initial application fee for a casino operator license is $225,000, except that 
the initial application fee for an applicant that is a commercial track that 1.vas licensed 
to operate slot machines as of January 1, 2011 is $25,000 the Houlton Band of 
Maliseet Indians is $100,000. +he Except for a casino operated by the Houlton Band 
of Maliseet Indians, the annual renewal fee is $80,000 plus an amount, set by rules of 
the board, equal to the cost to the board of licensing casino operators and determined 
by dividing the costs of administering the casino operator licenses by the total 
number of casino operators licensed by the board. The annual renewal fee for a 
casino operated by the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians is $35,000. In addition, a 
casino operator shall pay an initial gaming table fee of $100,000 for the privilege to 
operate each gaming table for a period of 20 years as long as the casino operator is 
licensed. Each gaming table is also subject to an annual gaming table renewal fee of 
$1,000. 
The gaming table fees authorize the casino operator to conduct any 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT I)" to H.P. 999, L.D. 1447 
I 
authorized table game at the gaming table during the 20-year period. 
A casino 
licensed in accordance with section 1011, subsection 2-A, paragraph A is not 
required to pay the gaming table fees until after one calendar year of table game 
operation. Fees collected in accordance with this paragraph must be deposited to the 
Gambling Control Board administrative expenses Other Special Revenue Funds 
account, which is a nonlapsing dedicated account. 
Sec. 3. 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 or a casino to be 
operated by the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians licensed in accordance with section 
1011, subsection 2-C.' 
Amend the bill in section 2 in subsection 6 in the 2nd to last line (page 1, line 37 in 
L.D.) by striking out the following: "70" and inserting the following: '40' 
Amend the bill in section 6 in subsection 2-E by striking out all of paragraph B (page 
4, lines 33 to 37 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'B. One percent of the net table game income must be forwarded to the Treasurer of 
State, who shall credit the money to the fund established in section 298 to supplement 
harness racing purses;' 
Amend the bill in section 6 in subsection 2-E in paragraph C in the last line (page 4, 
line 40 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "and" 
Amend the bill in section 6 in subsection 2-E in paragraph D in the last line (page 5, 
line 4 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "Micmacs." and insetting the following: 
'Micmacs; and' 
Amend the bill in section 6 in subsection 2-E by inserting after paragraph D the 
following: 
'E. One percent of the net table game income must be distributed by the board in 
equal amounts to veterans' organizations that have been consistently conducting 
charitable gaming under Title 17, chapter 62 for a period of at least 2 years as of 
Januaiy 1, 2017.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of the emergency clause. 
7 
Amend the bill by re lettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Patt letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMl'ITEE AMENDMENT ·A "to H.P. 999, L.D. t447 
SUMMARY 
This amendment provides that an application submitted to the Gambling Control 
Board within the Department of Public Safety by the Houlton Band ofMaliseet Indians to 
operate a casino must include an acknowledgment that the operation of the casino is 
subject to the oversight and enforcement of the Gambling Control Board. 
The 
amendment removes the provision in the bill that states a casino operated by the Houlton 
Band of Maliseet Indians is not subject to any fees. The amendment provides that the 
casino operated by the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians is subject to the fees applied to 
casinos that were initially licensed before 2012 under current law except that the initial 
license fee is $100,000 and the annual renewal fee is $3 5,000. The amendment also 
makes a change to the distribution of table game revenue, which under the bill provides 
2% of net revenue to all off-track betting facilities and to nonprofit organizations that 
conduct licensed charitable gaming. The amendment changes this distribution so that 1 % 
of table game revenue supplements harness racing purses and 1 % goes to veterans' 
organizations that have been continuously operating licensed charitable gaming for at 
least 2 years as of January 1, 2017. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 06/02/1 7 fe'ac 
LD 1447 
LR 232(02) 
An Act To Recognize and Provide for the Right of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians To Operate a 
Casino on Houlton Band Trust Land Exempt from Certain Gaming Laws 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment fe• [H ~tf 3-i) 
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Current biennium cost increase - General Fund 
Current biennium cost increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Current biennium revenue increase - General Fund 
Current biennium revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
This legislation authorizes the Gambling Control Board to accept an application for a casino license from the Houlton 
Band of Maliseet Indians. Issuance of a license is not contingent upon approval by means of a referendum of the State 
or voters of Aroostook County. The facility would be taxed at the rate of25% of net slot income and 15% of net table 
game income. Net slot machine and table game income retained by the Houlton Band ofMaliseet Indians will by used 
by the tribal govemement for social and economic programs that support the Houlton Band ofMaliseet Indians. 
Presented below is an estimate of the potential revenues that may be generated from the new facility and the 
subsequent distribution of those revenues. This fiscal note assumes a total of 350 slot machines and 10 table games, 
generating annual revenue of $797,889 for the· State's General Fund and $4,188,607 for various other funds. This 
fiscal statement assumes and incorporates a 3% reduction in revenue to Hollywood Casino. No impact on revenues 
generated by Oxford Casino is anticipated. The Houlton Band ofMaliseet Indians will be required to pay an initial 
application fee for a casino operator license of $100,000 and an initial gaming table privilege fee of $100,000 per 
table that together will generate $1, 100,000 in Other Special Revenue Funds. They will also be required to pay an 
initial registration fee of $100 for each slot machine and $100 for each table game, generating $36,000 in Other 
Special Revenue Funds revenue. The atmual renewal fees for the casino operator license of $35,000, gaming table 
privilege renewal fee of $1,000 per table, slot machine renewal fee of $100 per machine and table game renewal fee of 
$100 per table will generate an estimated $81,000 annually in Other Special Revenue Funds revenue. The GCB will 
require annual General Fund appropriations of $613,943 starting in fiscal year 2018-19 for costs associated with 5 
inspector positions and other related expenses. 
Summary of Casino Revenue 
Gross Slot Income (total value of money, tokens, credits and other value used to play a slot machine) 
Player Payback - Slot Income 
Net Slot Income 
Operator Share ofNet Slot Income - 75% 
Share of Net Slot Income for Distribution - 25% 
Net Table Game Income 
Operator Share ofNet Table Game Income - 85% 
Share ofNet Table Game Income for Distribution - 15% 
LR0232(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 3 
Annual 
Estimate 
$194,818,750 
$174,752,419 
$20,066,331 
$15,049,748 
$5,016,583 
$3,584,300 
$3,046,655 
$537,645 
CPr Ui-lf 3 7) 
State Revenues by Fund 
General Fund 
General Fund revenue from new Houlton Casino (5% of net slot income) 
General Fund 3 % revenue reduction from Bangor Casino 
Total General Fund 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
University of Maine System Scholarship Fund 
Maine Cmmnunity College System 
Penobscot Nation/Passamaquoddy Tribe/ Aroostook Micmac 
Town of Houlton 
Aroostook County 
Gambling Control Board - OSR 
Fund to Supplement Harness Racing Purses 
Veterans Organizations 
Subtotal Other Special Revenue Funds Revenue 
Other Special Revenue Funds 3% revenue reduction from Bangor Casino 
Fund for a Healthy Maine 3% revenue reduction from Bangor Casino 
Total Other Revenue 
Total Revenue All Funds 
Licensing and Application Revenues - Other Special Revenue 
Casino Operator - Initial Application Fee 
(one-time) 
Casino Operator -Annual Renewal Fee 
(annual) 
Table Games - Initial Privilege Fee 
(one-time) 
Table Games - Annual Privilege Renewal fee 
(annual) 
Slot Machine - Initial Registration Fee 
(one-time) 
Slot Machine - Annual Renewal Fee 
(annual) 
Table Game - Initial Registration Fee 
(one-time) 
Table Game - Annual Rene,val Fee 
(annual) 
Total Licensing and Application Revenues 
Detail of Bangor Casino Revenue Reduction 
General Fund Administration (3% Reduction in Gross Slot Machine Revenue) 
1st Year 
$100,000 
$1,000,000 
$35,000 
$1,000 
$1,136,000 
General Fund (Other) (3% Reduction in Net Slot Machine and Net Table Game Revenue) 
Subtotal - General Fund 
Fund for a Healthy Maine 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Harness Racing Commission 
University of Maine Scholarship Fund 
Maine Maritime Academy Scholarship Program 
Maine Community College System Scholarships 
Resident Municipalities 
Gambling Control Board 
Coordinated Veteran Assistance Fund 
Subtotal - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Total Revenue Reduction - Bangor Casino 
LR0232(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 2 of 3 
Annual 
Estimate 
$1,003,317 
(205,428) 
$797,889 
$601,990 
$401,327 
$2,257,534 
$745,362 
$401,327 
$152,686 
$35,843 
$35,843 
$4,631,912 
(322,020) 
(121,285) 
$4,188,607 
$4.986,496 
Annual 
Estimate 
$35,000 
$10,000 
$35,000 
$1,000 
$81,000 
(132,732) 
(72,696) 
(205,428) 
(121,285) 
(254,699) 
(23,286) 
(971) 
(12,129) 
(17,502) 
(8,060) 
(5,373) 
(322,020) 
(648.733) 
Summary of Expenditures by State (GCB) 
General Fund 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Total Expenditures 
LR0232(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 3 of3 
$613,943 
$81,000 
$694,943