An Act To Reduce the Annual License Fee for High-stakes Beano and To Allow the Passamaquoddy Tribe To Operate 50 Slot Machines in the Tribe's High-stakes Beano Facility
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1077
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: DANA
Amends: 8 MRSA §1011, 8 MRSA §1019, 8 MRSA §1020, 8 MRSA §1035, 8 MRSA §1036, 17 MRSA §314-A

Legislative Document
No. 1077
H.P. 755
House of Representatives, March 16, 2017
An Act To Reduce the Annual License Fee for High-stakes Beano 
and To Allow the Passamaquoddy Tribe To Operate 50 Slot 
Machines in the Tribe's High-stakes Beano Facility
(EMERGENCY)
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative DANA of the Passamaquoddy Tribe.
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, passage of this legislation is necessary to ensure the continued operation 
of high-stakes beano gaming by the Passamaquoddy Tribe; and 
Whereas, many jobs and the operation of an elderly assisted living center depend 
upon high-stakes beano gaming; and 
Whereas, this legislation needs to take effect before next year's license fee to 
operate high-stakes beano games becomes due; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  8 MRSA §1011, sub-§2-C is enacted to read: 
2-C.  Passamaquoddy Tribe eligible for license to operate slot machines.  The 
board may accept an application from the Passamaquoddy Tribe for a license to operate 
slot machines at a gaming facility in Washington County at which high-stakes beano is 
conducted by the Passamaquoddy Tribe. 
Sec. 2.  8 MRSA §1019, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2011, c. 417, §6, is further 
amended to read: 
7.  Statewide and county referendum; municipal vote.  After January 1, 2011, any 
proposed casino or slot machine facility may not be issued a license unless it has been 
approved by a statewide referendum vote and a vote of the municipal officers or 
municipality in which the casino or slot machine facility is to be located, except that a 
commercial track licensed to operate slot machines on January 1, 2011 is only required, 
as a condition to obtain a casino license, to receive approval to operate a casino by means 
of a referendum of the voters of the county in which the commercial track is located.  
Notwithstanding this subsection, the Passamaquoddy Tribe may obtain a license to 
operate slot machines at a gaming facility in Washington County at which high-stakes 
beano is conducted. 
Sec. 3.  8 MRSA §1020, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 2011, c. 585, §8, is 
further amended to read: 
A.  Except for slot machines used for training and educational purposes at 
postsecondary institutions as provided by section 1011, subsection 1-B, the total 
number of slot machines registered in the State may not exceed 3,000 3,050; and 
Sec. 4.  8 MRSA §1035, as amended by PL 2011, c. 585, §10, is further amended 
to read: 
§1035.  Location of slot machines 
Slot machines may be located only on the premises of a commercial track, the 
premises of a casino, the premises of a gaming facility in Washington County at which 
high-stakes beano is conducted by the Passamaquoddy Tribe or the premises of an 
accredited postsecondary institution for the purposes of training and education under 
section 1011, subsection 1-B.  For the purposes of this section, "premises of a commercial 
track" means property owned by the person who owns the property on which a 
commercial track is located and that is either within 200 feet of the outside edge of the 
racing oval or, if the commercial track was owned by a municipality when a license to 
operate slot machines in association with that commercial track was issued, within 2,000 
feet of the center of the racing oval. 
Sec. 5.  8 MRSA §1036, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 417, §7, is further 
amended to read: 
1.  Distribution for administrative expenses of board.  A slot machine operator 
licensed under section 1011, subsection 2 or 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.  
Sec. 6.  8 MRSA §1036, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2015, c. 493, §4, is further 
amended to read: 
2.  Distribution of net slot machine income from casino with commercial track 
and from slot machines operated in conjunction with beano.  A slot machine operator 
licensed under section 1011, subsection 2 or 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 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; 
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: 
(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; 
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 slot 
machine facility 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. 
Sec. 8.  17 MRSA §314-A, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2015, c. 24, §1 and 
affected by §2, is further amended to read: 
4.  Term of license; fees.  A license issued under this section is valid for a period of 
one year.  The annual license fee for a high-stakes beano license is $50,000, except that 
the annual license fee due in 2008 to 2016 is $25,000. License fees may be paid in 
advance in quarterly installments.  All license fees must be paid to the Treasurer of State 
to be credited to the General Fund. 
Emergency clause.  In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill authorizes the Department of Public Safety, Gambling Control Board to 
accept an application from the Passamaquoddy Tribe to operate 50 slot machines at a 
gaming facility in Washington County at which high-stakes beano is conducted by the 
Passamaquoddy Tribe. The bill raises the limit on the number of slot machines allowed in 
the State by 50 to accommodate the slot machines that may be operated by the 
Passamaquoddy Tribe.  Slot machines operated by the Passamaquoddy Tribe would be 
subject to the oversight of the Gambling Control Board and subject to the same laws and 
rules as other slot machines operated in this State. 
It also reduces the annual license fee for high-stakes beano from $50,000 to $25,000 
and allows the Passamaquoddy Tribe to operate 50 slot machines in the tribe's high-stakes 
beano facility.