Thank you all for the work you have done to support the efforts to pass LD1902. We've made some progress and I wanted to give you a quick update on where we stand following yesterday's work session of the Veteran and Legal Affairs Committee.
Yesterday, Committee Chair and bill sponsor, Senator Craig Hickman, provided the committee with an amended version of the bill that added some definitions and restricted the program to Veteran, Fraternal, and Patriotic organizations.
After much discussion, the Committee voted 8-4 "ought not to pass" on LD1902. Disappointing but not the end.
The bill will now move to the Senate for further action. The Committee members who support the effort will, through their minority report, bring forth a compromise that will serve to win over the members of the committee that voted against it, but more importantly, demonstrate to the rest of the legislature a willingness to address some of the concerns raised by those in opposition.
It should be noted that this is similar to what happened in committee in 2024. That bill then went on to pass the House only to die in the Senate because they ran out of time.
The compromise would;
- reduce the number of machines per location to a minimum of 4 (down one from 5), and a maximum of 8 (down 2 from 10).
-Create a buffer zone around Maine's two casinos of as much as 30 miles. Organizations in the buffer zone would only be allowed 4 machines regardless of the size of the club.
-%5 of the proceeds raised by the organizations from the program would have to be deposited to the Maine Veteran's Home stabilization fund.
How did we get here?
Three things primarily drove today's vote.
-First, many members of the committee are furious that the Governor allowed the iGaming bill to pass into law. That bill gave the tribal entities exclusive rights to iGaming and cut out the casinos and OTBs. Members of the Republican caucus believe they had the Governor's word that she would veto that bill and that they were lied to.
-Second, the level of acrimony among committee members has grown significantly over the past two weeks over issues/legislation that have nothing to do with our bill. This committee has a big portfolio that includes hot button issues such as cannabis and rank choice voting. In an election year, you can imagine that debate got a little heated. That acrimony may have contributed to the lack of a willingness to compromise today and instead a chance to us the the forum to poke each other in the eye, especially the Committee Chair who is our sponsor
-Finally, Representative Hymes, himself a veteran, leaned in hard on the higher propensity for gaming addiction among veterans, reading directly from the NCPG website statistics. That was enough to turn one of our yes votes into a no and gave those that have a "general concern' about problem gaming an umbrella to stand under.
Next Steps
We expect the bill to come before the full Senate. That could happen before the end of the month. Now is the time to reach out to your individual Senators with the same sorts of messages/testimony before the VLA committee.
If you or your Post support this bill attached are a couple sample letters that you can use to send to your local Senators. I've also attached their emails.
If you would like to know more you can contact Brian Jeffries he is with Arrow International. His email is: bjeffries@arrowinternational.com
