Gambling bills fall; lobbying activity totals prompt updates
Lawmakers and the governor are gearing up for tough discussions on state spending and borrowing. Gov. Paul LePage said he won't consider any new bonds until the Legislature has filled a revenue shortfall in a supplemental budget for the fiscal year starting in July.
The ‘fix it’ man
A spokeswoman for LePage said in a statement that the governor won't consider bond proposals like a $73 million borrowing package to support the state's biotechnology and marine sectors until lawmakers craft a supplemental budget. Lawmakers are considering at least $43 million in other bond spending that will face a tough challenge from the governor.
Crapshoot
While divided government is responsible for much of the tension in Augusta, a split between the House and Senate killed six bills to expand gambling in the state. The Senate deflected action on the bills, directing the state first to create a formal process for reviewing and approving new casinos or gaming operations. The decision postponed any action on a proposal from Scarborough Downs to add slots at its race track, and for Maine's Native American tribes to add gambling facilities and new gaming technologies on tribal lands. Another bill would have allowed veterans' organizations to put slot machines in their clubs. The Senate's rejection of the bills followed passage in the House in March. The bills were opposed by Oxford Casino in Oxford and Hollywood Casino in Bangor.
Double-take
A report on lobbyist compensation and expenditures for the 2013 year published online and in our March 24 issue needs clarification. After our story ran, the Maine Ethics Commission corrected its expenditure data, which had incorrectly multiplied lobbyist spending on events by the number of lawmakers in attendance. The result far overstated lobbying expenditures, most notably for Northeast Delta Dental, and others. Separately, the state's top-spending lobbying client, the Minneapolis-based co-owner of an Orrington waste-to-energy facility, USA Energy Group LLC, amended its filings after publication; it adjusted down expenditures that it and state officials said were incorrectly reported initially. The errors and late amendments were amplified by our mischaracterization of lobbyist expenditures. It is spending incidental to lobbying activity, not direct spending on elected officials.
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