Governor Mills’ veto on Maine Tribal gaming bill stands

Lawmakers voted in favor of overriding the veto but were short of a majority by 10 votes.

Legislators in Maine recently failed to gain the two-thirds majority vote needed to override Governor Janet Mills’ veto of a previously passed Tribal gaming bill to grant federal benefits to the state’s four Wabanaki Tribes, according to a local report in the Portland Press Herald. Lawmakers fell short of overturning the governor’s veto by 10 votes.

The House voted in favor of overriding Mills’ veto in an 84 to 57 vote.

The bill in question, LD1944, was proposed by State Representative Ben Collings. The Tribal gaming bill “required the state to negotiate for a casino license with a federally recognized tribe or any combination of tribes in Maine that wish to own and operate a casino on tribal lands.”

Prior to the vote, those standing in solidarity with the Tribes protested at the State House. Several supporters filled the halls and carried “Stand with the Wabanaki” and “Set Them Free” signs, to urge lawmakers to vote in favor of reversing the Governor’s veto.

Tribal observers walked out after the vote was tallied and announced after a collective gasp in reaction to the results, the local report said.

For Wabanaki leaders, the bill represented a step toward obtaining Tribal sovereignty. Penobscot Chief Kirk Francis told the Press Herald that Governor Mills is “out of touch” and voiced his disappointment regarding the vote.

Francis commented, “Her hardline stance in opposition to the tribes is something of a bygone era, though apparently just effective enough today. Though today was a loss on the floor of the House, we’re confident moving forward we will only gain greater support.”

This is not the state’s first attempt at implementing a Tribal gaming law. Collings authored a previous bill that passed by a vote of 97 to 40 in the House and by a vote of 22 to 13, gaining bipartisan support.

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