Latest news with #WabanakiNations
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legislature approves exclusive rights to internet gaming for Wabanaki Nations
In 2022, the Maine Legislature amended the Settlement Act to permit Tribes to handle sports betting, and the internet gaming bill would build off of that earlier expansion. (Photo by Getty Images) The Maine Legislature passed a bill to give the Wabanaki Nations exclusive rights to operate internet gaming in Maine. If this bill, LD 1164, ultimately becomes law, it would require 16% of the revenue generated from internet gaming to go back to the state to fund services to address gambling addiction programs, substance use disorder, emergency housing relief and veteran housing. However, there are still remaining hurdles until that is guaranteed. Last Thursday, the House passed the bill 85-59 but the Senate split over the legislation before tabling it. When it took the bill back up Monday, the upper chamber first attempted to reject the bill but fell short of doing so with a 17-18 vote. The Senate ultimately passed it without a roll call. Later Monday night, the Senate attempted to reconsider its vote, but that motion failed 17-18. Both chambers therefore followed the recommendation from the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee to support the measure. But Maine's Department of Health and Human Services opposed the bill during its public hearing. While Press Secretary Ben Goodman declined to share an official stance from Gov. Janet Mills, instead saying the administration is 'monitoring' the bill, Wabanaki leaders say there is not much appetite from the governor, presenting the possibility of a veto. Legislature considers paths to afford Wabanaki Nations more revenue from gambling The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 codified that tribes have the exclusive right to regulate gaming on their lands, unless the state in which it operates prohibits such gaming under its criminal laws. However, the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act has made it so the Wabanaki Nations are treated more akin to municipalities than independent nations, one way being that the Tribes are unable to benefit from any federal law passed after 1980, unless they are specifically mentioned in the law. In 2022, the Maine Legislature amended the Settlement Act to permit Tribes to handle sports betting, so the legislation being considered this session would build off of that earlier expansion. 'The proposal to authorize igaming for Maine's tribes is more than a revenue conversation,' Brian Reynolds, the new Tribal Representative for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, said during debate on the House floor Thursday. 'It's about laying a foundation for self-reliance through modern tools. This is a chance for us to meet economic needs without waiting on federal grants or new appropriations. It allows us to stand on our own.' The Department of Health and Human Services' opposition largely centered around not wanting to incentivize more gambling. 'While the bill directs a portion of revenue collected, which will be used to further prevention and treatment efforts, the number of individuals who may need support and resources will continue to increase along with the public health concerns associated with gambling and internet use,' Puthiery Va, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention under DHHS, testified during the public hearing. Rep. Amy Roeder (D-Bangor) presented a rebuttal to this view during a speech on the floor Thursday. Noting that it is tempting to try to legislate morality, 'that's not our job,' Roeder said. 'It's our job outside of this chamber to talk to our families, to talk to our children about why we don't become addicted to gambling, why we shouldn't drink to excess, but that's not our job to legislate.' Other proponents argued internet gambling is already happening and the bill presents an opportunity for greater oversight. 'Regulating igaming gives us the tools to enforce safeguards like age verification, betting limits and addiction resources that the offshore platforms ignore,' Reynold said on the floor. 'By bringing this market under Maine's laws, we're not only protecting the Maine gaming market, we're protecting people.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The bill also presents an opportunity for the state to benefit on gambling that's already happening, Passamaquoddy Tribal Rep. Aaron Dana said in an interview with Maine Morning Star. 'If we allow that type of gaming and regulate that gaming here in the state of Maine, then we have the ability to have geo fencing and firewalls so the illegal online gaming is not happening anymore and the state is actually gaining revenue from it.' Dana sees this added revenue as particularly key in light of the tight budget year. 'I think it would be a win-win,' he said. Maine's privately owned casinos — Hollywood Casino, Hotel and Raceway in Bangor and Oxford Casino Hotel — are opposed because it would create an internet gaming monopoly for the Wabanaki Nations and, they argue, hurt their businesses by diverting revenue to the online options. 'Oxford Casino has delivered on its promise to Maine — creating jobs, paying taxes, and supporting local businesses,' Matt Gallagher, the casino's general manager, testified during the public hearing. 'LD 1164 undermines this success.' Dana argues the demographics of people who use online gaming are different from those who go to brick-and mortar-casinos. Roeder also argued 'the brick-and-mortars will not suffer because they offer something that igaming does not,' which is a social experience. The Legislature is also considering another gaming bill that pertains to the Wabanaki Nations this session, though it has yet to receive floor votes. Rather than altering the structure of who controls gaming, LD 1851 seeks to provide equality among the Wabanaki Nations in how much revenue they are provided from slot machine income in the state. It would increase the total net slot machine income to be collected and distributed by a casino from 39% to 46%, which would only impact Hollywood Casino, as Oxford Casino is currently at that percentage. It would then provide 7% of that income to the tribal governments of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and the Mi'kmaq Nation. This is roughly the same revenue, around $3.5 million, that Oxford already provides the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation. While both gaming bills could be passed, Chief of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians Clarissa Sabattis told Maine Morning Star she anticipates the slot revenue bill will not be as necessary should the Tribes gain control of internet gaming, though she sees that path as the less likely outcome. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Governor vetoes next change to Settlement Act, among other bills
Gov. Janet Mills gives the State of the State address on Jan. 30, 2024. (Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star) Gov. Janet Mills blocked legislation seeking to prevent the state from being able to seize tribal land for public use, one of several of her first vetoes this year announced on Monday. The Maine Legislature passed the bill, LD 958, with bipartisan support earlier this month, winning over many Republicans who generally were less supportive of previous attempts to provide the Wabanaki Nations greater sovereignty. However, a veto was expected and initial votes on the bill indicate there is likely not enough support to override it. Mills' legal counsel made her opposition clear while the bill was still in committee, arguing such a ban could prevent the state government from addressing unpredictable future infrastructure needs. Mills repeated some of the same reasons in her veto letter dated June 20, including that the bill would amount to a 'permanent and irrevocable change to state law' — a critique leaders of the Wabanaki Nations have refuted in light of the several recent changes the state has made to grant the Tribes more sovereignty. LD 958 was seen as the next piece of those reforms. Most other federally recognized tribes are already afforded protection against states being able to seize tribal land for public use. However, the Wabanaki Nations are not, due to repercussions from the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. Governor opposed to latest change to Settlement Act backed by Wabanaki Nations The U.S. government can seize private property for public use, a principle known as eminent domain, however that authority is restricted by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which requires just compensation for land taken, as well as some federal laws. In 1834, the federal Indian Nonintercourse Act prohibited land transactions with tribes unless authorized by Congress, but the Settlement Act specified that that federal law was not applicable to the Wabanaki Nations. Overall, this land settlement agreement has resulted in the tribes being treated more akin to municipalities than sovereign nations like other federally recognized tribes. Overhauling this act in its entirety is the Wabanaki Nations' broader goal for greater recognition of their sovereignty — sweeping reform Mills has opposed, opting instead for some targeted, piecemeal changes. 'The Legislature cannot unilaterally repeal or amend the new language in the future, even if problems with that language become obvious later,' Mills wrote in her veto letter. She's referring to the fact that federal law authorizes the Maine Legislature to make changes to the act, but only with the consent of the affected Tribes. 'The Legislature should understand that this bill would permanently deny the state the ability to take even small portions of Tribal Lands abutting public rights of way for uses like road and bridge projects no matter what circumstances may arise many years into the future,' Mills wrote. However, in recent years, the Legislature has passed, and the Tribes have later ratified, changes to that act, such as expanding tribal authority to prosecute crimes, permitting the Tribes to handle sports betting and ensuring the Tribes receive the benefits and protections of the Violence Against Women Act, the Indian Child Welfare Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act — several of which Mills highlighted in her letter. But Mills went on to write that she views the changes sought in LD 958 as counter to those other recent successes. Noting the legislative strides came as a result of numerous meetings and conversations, she wrote, 'Never once in these discussions did any Tribal leader mention the issue of state eminent domain authority as a problem that should be addressed.' The state has not exercised eminent domain over tribal lands since the Settlement Act. Mills pointed to this fact when arguing 'LD 958 is a solution in search of a problem.' However, Wabanaki leaders have argued it instead shows that the state's current ability to exercise eminent domain over tribal lands is not actually clear and that any such attempts would likely result in litigation, providing more reason to clarify rights now in the bill. The Legislature will have a chance to override Mills' veto, but after the Maine House of Representatives voted 86-60 and the Senate 20-12, it looks unlikely the chambers can secure the two-thirds threshold that is needed to do so. Mills has vetoed four other bills so far this session. LD 588 sought to give agricultural employees the right to engage in certain concerted activity, which includes talking about wages, working conditions and other employment matters with other employees or the employer. LD 1802 aimed to clarify when an indigent criminal defendant is entitled to counsel at the state's expense. LD 1731 would require the state ferry service to consult with an advisory board on matters related to the service, budget, strategic planning and major operational decisions. LD 1328 sought to create culturally appropriate and trauma-informed residences to provide services to underserved, underrepresented or disparately impacted individuals in recovery from substance use disorder. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
More than 100 bills still have a chance to become law this year
Entrance to the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee room in the Maine State House in Augusta. (Photo by Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star) More than 100 bills now have a chance to ultimately become law this year, though many with reduced price tags and scope. Among those advanced were bills to approve exclusive rights to internet gaming for Wabanaki Nations, establish a property tax relief task force, add Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander history to Maine's learning results, require serial numbers for so-called ghost guns, and establish a statewide takeback program for firefighting foam contaminated with forever chemicals, following a spill in Brunswick last summer. The Legislature will return on Wednesday to ultimately decide which to send to Gov. Janet Mills, as well as to potentially consider other bills still in limbo in the chambers. The 117 proposals advanced on Tuesday were selected out of nearly 300 bills that had been placed on what's known as the appropriations table, which is managed by the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee that sets the budget. Most bills placed on the table already passed both chambers but still need to be funded. In total, the bills on the table would have cost about $2.5 billion over the next two years, but there is about $7 million left to be allocated after Mills signed the budget addition into law on Monday. Some of the bills the appropriations committee voted 'off the table,' to send back to the full Legislature for consideration, were advanced without changes. That was the case for the bills related to igaming for the Tribes, the property tax task force and Asian American history requirements. It was also the case for a bill to make the governor's energy office a cabinet level department and another to alter the real estate transfer tax in an effort to protect mobile home parks. However, the committee amended a number of bills to reduce their cost or strike it altogether. For example, the committee voted LD 1126 — the bill to require serial numbers for so-called ghost guns — off the table after removing its appropriations, noting that the Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck said the positions those funds would have supported were not necessary to fulfill the goal of the bill. Meanwhile, another bill related to firearm regulation — LD 1867, to prohibit financial institutions and merchants from using firearm codes to track purchases — remains on the table, though Republicans on the committee attempted to move it off. One of the most common ways the committee amended bills was by striking their fiscal notes but then allocating just $500 to set up a fund that keeps a path open for future funding, by the state or other revenue. This was the case for LD 222, the takeback program for firefighting foam, LD 1738, which aims to fund proper disposal of syringe litter, LD 1529, which seeks to enhance the protection of high-value natural resources statewide, and LD 1643, which would establish the Maine Life Science Innovation Center, among others. After the committee included a $3 million appropriation for family planning services in the budget, it opted to also vote an amended version of a bill, LD 143, off the table to provide up to another $3 million by making such a transfer a priority for any unappropriated surplus of the general fund. This move received sharp rebukes from Republicans on the committee, including Rep. Amy Bradstreet Arata (R-New Gloucester) who said she was 'thoroughly disgusted.' But Republicans on the committee successfully moved a few items off the table. One was a bill to create the Net Energy Billing Cost Stabilization Fund. Another was a bill to provide that accrued and unused hours of earned paid leave from the previous year of employment must be available in the year of employment. And another was a bill to extend the statute of limitations on criminal actions involving aggravated sex trafficking. In other cases, the committee funded proposals but at reduced amounts. This occurred with bills to fund free health clinics and the Maine Emergency Medical Services Community Grant Program, as well as two proposals to reduce student homelessness, one aimed at helping students at risk of homelessness and another aimed at students who are already unhoused. One bill ended up requiring no committee action — LD 1425, which aims to improve access to sustainable and low-barrier trauma recovery services — because it is being funded by settlement money provided by the Office of the Maine Attorney General. This bill as well as a handful that were incorporated into the budget will still remain 'on the table' upon adjournment because they've been funded an alternative way. Some of the bills on the table that were funded through the budget include an expansion of Maine's version of a child tax credit for children under six and an initiative to help mitigate the fact that the Older Americans Act is no longer funded by the federal government. Further, committee co-chair Sen. Peggy Rotundo (D-Androscoggin) said before concluding work Tuesday night that the committee intends to carry over the bills still on the table into next year. 'There's another chance for all of them,' Rotundo said. As lawmakers begin to make their final decisions, use the searchable table below to see the status of the bills on the table:
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine Legislature sends more than 100 bills to governor on last day of session
The dome of the Maine State House in Augusta. (Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star) Lawmakers sent more than 100 bills to the governor's desk on the final day of session on Wednesday, though less than half of the bills that had been vying for funding. Among the bills legislators passed in the final hours are measures to provide exclusive rights to internet gaming for the Wabanaki Nations, require serial numbers for so-called ghost guns and add Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander history to Maine's learning results. Two bills aimed at helping with housing affordability, one by altering the real estate transfer tax to protect mobile home parks and another to establish a property tax relief task force, are also now on the governor's desk. Another bill passed by lawmakers on Wednesday would establish a statewide takeback program for firefighting foam contaminated with forever chemicals, following a spill in Brunswick last summer. And others would alter state government, including a change to make the governor's energy office a cabinet level department and another to make it so a simple majority, rather than current two-thirds, of each chamber could extend the Legislature's work beyond the statutory adjournment date. These bills are not guaranteed to become law quite yet. The Maine Legislature adjourned sine die, or finally, and does not plan to reconvene until the start of the second regular session in January 2026. But Gov. Janet Mills now has 10 days to either sign or veto the bills passed on Wednesday. The status of any bills she doesn't take action on won't be settled until the Legislature reconvenes. The governor will have three days to veto bills then, or let them become law without her signature. So far this session, Mills has vetoed five bills, all of which lawmakers sustained on Wednesday. All non-emergency laws passed this session will take effect on Sept. 24 unless the bill text notes otherwise. The 117 bills lawmakers passed on Wednesday followed the recommendations of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, which voted those proposals off of what's known as the appropriations table on Tuesday. These amount to about 40% of the total number of bills — nearly 300 — placed on the table throughout the session. Legislation on the table has largely already passed both chambers on initial votes but still needed to be funded. While some of these bills could now become law, the appropriations committee reduced or struck altogether the allocations of most given limited resources. (More details here.) One of the proposals it amended that now awaits approval from Mills is a measure to provide more funding for reproductive health care. The budget addition the governor signed into law last week provided $3 million for family planning services, which include routine gynecological and well exams, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, birth control, cancer screenings, gender-affirming and behavioral health care, among others. Such funding is not used for abortions. The bill now on the governor's desk, LD 143, had initially called for $6 million toward these services, but the appropriations committee advanced an amended version on Tuesday that would instead provide up to another $3 million from the available unappropriated surplus by the end of the current fiscal year. It was clear Republicans opposed the measure in committee, with Rep. Amy Bradstreet Arata (R-New Gloucester) saying she was 'thoroughly disgusted.' But both chambers ultimately enacted it as amended on Wednesday, with the Democratic majority and Republican Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford backing it. But other proposals were approved as is. That was the case for one of the most debated bills in the appropriations committee on Tuesday: LD 1937, which sought to require hospitals and their affiliates to provide financial assistance programs for medical care. Republicans on the committee criticized it as a measure that will increase hospitals' costs while they're already struggling, while Democrats countered that the bill would make sure people who don't have insurance still have access to health care. The state delayed Medicaid payments to hospitals this spring after Senate Republicans refused to back a change package to address the urgent deficit without structural reform to the program. Now, hospitals are also bracing to possibly take on more costs for the uninsured due to proposed cuts to Medicaid in President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' The committee left on the table the majority of the bills that had been placed there this year. However, all of the bills left on the table upon adjournment were carried over in a joint order passed on Wednesday, so they could still become law next year when the Legislature reconvenes. Among those bills were two that sought to ensure the already required teachings of Wabanaki and African American studies are effectively implemented across all Maine schools. LD 1474 sought to permanently establish a Wabanaki studies specialist in the Maine Department of Education, while LD 1202 sought to create an African American Studies Advisory Council. Two other bills that the committee did not move off the table would have expanded the state's infrastructure to track and test sexual assault forensic examination kits, commonly called rape kits. These preserve evidence left behind during an assault through a forensic medical examination that survivors can choose to undergo immediately after a sexual assault. DNA evidence from these kits can then be used to solve and prevent crimes. LD 549 would have established a statewide tracking system for such kits, and LD 1816 would have conducted an inventory of existing kits in the possession of law enforcement. Defying the appropriations committee decision, Bennett, the sponsor of LD 549, attempted to suspend the rules to take both his bill and LD 1816 off the table on Wednesday. His motions failed. 'It's unfortunate that the appropriations of the committee hasn't responded to the urgent needs of some people of the state of Maine,' Bennett said. Sen. Brad Farrin (R-Somerset) also attempted to do the same for LD 182, which would provide per diem payments for MaineCare residents of the Maine Veterans' Homes. His motion also failed. In addition to carrying over the bills left on the table, each of the legislative policy committees requested that some of the bills in their possession be carried over to next year. The joint order also included some bills that had remained tabled in the chambers upon adjournment. One of those measures was LD 1822, the proposal for a comprehensive data privacy law passed by the majority of the Judiciary Committee. 'While LD 1822 did not receive a vote on the House floor this session, I am encouraged by the progress we made in the Judiciary Committee to put together a robust data privacy bill – one that will actually protect Mainers' sensitive information and strike a careful balance between innovation and accountability,' bill sponsor Rep. Amy Kuhn (D-Falmouth) told Maine Morning Star. 'I am grateful that the bill was carried over to next session, and I look forward to continuing this important work next year.' Meanwhile, both chambers voted down a competing data privacy measure, LD 1088. (Read more about these proposals here). Use the searchable chart below to check the status of the bills that had been placed on the table at some point this session: Editor's Note: This story was updated to clarify what happens to bills when they are delivered to the governor at the end of a session.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ban on state seizure of Wabanaki land passes Legislature, but likely to be vetoed
William Nicholas, chief of the Passamoquoddy Tribe at Indian Township, testifies in support of prohibiting eminent domain on tribal lands before the Judiciary Committee on April 4. (Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star) Legislation that would prevent the state from being able to seize tribal land for public use passed with bipartisan support in the Maine Legislature Friday, winning over many Republicans who generally were less supportive of previous attempts to provide the Wabanaki Nations greater sovereignty. However, initial votes show that support may not be enough to override an expected veto from Gov. Janet Mills. With 11 Republicans joining the Democratic majority, the Maine House of Representatives voted 86-60 on Friday in favor of the bill, preceded by ample debate. The Senate followed suit with a 20-12 vote but no discussion. However, a two-thirds vote in both chambers would be needed to override a veto. LD 958, which has bipartisan co-sponsors and received a favorable committee vote, would prohibit the state from exercising something called eminent domain on current trust and reservation land. 'This is an issue that small government conservatives and civil justice liberals can agree on,' bill sponsor House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) told Maine Morning Star. However, others in his caucus spoke against the bill during floor debate, highlighting that their opposition to this issue is attached to their overall opposition to tribal sovereignty efforts. 'I cannot support this measure because I believe the issue is an issue to some degree less about eminent domain than it is about tribal sovereignty,' Rep. Ken Fredette (R-Newport) said. Fredette went on to compare the Wabanaki Nations to states and municipalities. Governor opposed to latest change to Settlement Act backed by Wabanaki Nations 'Our states are not absolute sovereign from our federal government,' Fredette said. 'Our towns are not absolute sovereign from the state in and the reality is that the tribes are not absolutely sovereign from the state of Maine.' Most other federally recognized tribes are already afforded protection against states being able to seize tribal land for public use. However, the Wabanaki Nations are not, due to repercussions from the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. This land settlement agreement has resulted in the tribes being treated more akin to municipalities than sovereign nations like other federally recognized tribes. Overhauling this act in its entirety is the Wabanaki Nations' broader goal for greater recognition of their sovereignty. The U.S. government can seize private property for public use, a principle known as eminent domain, however that authority is restricted by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which requires just compensation for land taken, as well as some federal laws. In 1834, the federal Indian Nonintercourse Act prohibited land transactions with tribes unless authorized by Congress, but the Settlement Act specified that that federal law was not applicable to the Wabanaki Nations. 'As an ardent supporter of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights I stand opposed to the government taking people's property through eminent domain,' Faulkingham said. 'It is even more egregious to threaten seizure of property from sovereign tribes who have suffered from historic injustices of land seizures in the past.' LD 958 would amend the Settlement Act to prohibit the state from exercising eminent domain on trust and reservation land, which is protected under federal law, though fee land — or private property for which the owner owns the title — would still be subject to the state taking. The bill would also amend the 2023 Mi'kmaq Nation Restoration Act to make this change for the fourth Tribe of the Wabanaki Nations, the Mi'kmaq Nation, which wasn't included in the Settlement Act. 'I feel like this is a no brainer,' Executive Director of the Wabanaki Alliance Maulian Bryant told Maine Morning Star. 'We should have tribal land protected from state seizure, just like other tribes around the country.' Throughout committee consideration of the bill, it was amended to incorporate a proposed change from the Maine State Chamber of Commerce that the prohibition would only apply to current reservation and trust lands, and not land that may be put into trust in the future. Each of the Wabanaki Nations are eligible to acquire up to 150,000 acres of trust land in specific areas identified in the Settlement Act. Several tribes have already acquired most of that. While the Judiciary Committee accepted that amendment, Passamaquoddy Tribal Rep. Aaron Dana, who is on the committee, told Maine Morning Star that some tribal leaders believed that compromise shouldn't have been made. 'We don't want to keep negotiating away everything,' Dana said. 'We've been negotiating everything away since the 1980s.' 'What we don't know is what we don't know,' Fredette said on the floor. 'Would we, as a state, for the best interest of the state, require a sliver of a piece of land? I don't know the answer to that.' Fredette repeated many of the same talking points that the governor's counsel, Jerry Reid, told the Judiciary Committee during a work session in which he shared that Mills is opposed to the bill. After not testifying during the bill's public hearing, Reid said on April 9 that Mills is concerned the bill could prevent the state government from addressing unpredictable future infrastructure needs, an issue also raised in written testimony from the Maine Department of Transportation. When pressed by committee members, Reid said he didn't have a specific example of an infrastructure project that would warrant seizing tribal land but that, 'We need to write the law mindful of the potential for problems.' Republican Sen. David Haggan of Penobscot, who was one of four committee members to vote against the bill in committee, invited Reid and Tim Woodcock, attorney with Eaton Peabody, to provide a question and answer session about the bill, which was only attended by Republican legislators on May 8. A handout from that meeting listed similar key points, pointing to uncertain future needs and arguing that the state needs to be mindful of the interests of the 1.4 million non-tribal Maine citizens, as well. 'Informational sessions like this are not unusual,' the governor's press secretary Ben Goodman said when asked why the session was held. So far, sweeping changes to the Settlement Act have failed due to opposition from Mills, though an omnibus sovereignty bill has been carried over into next year. Instead, the governor, lawmakers and Wabanaki leaders have successfully made some targeted adjustments, including expanding tribal authority to prosecute crimes last year. Craig Francis, a tribal attorney and Passamaquoddy citizen, told Maine Morning Star that the Wabanaki Nations hadn't expected the eminent domain issue to garner the pushback from the Mills administration that it has. 'We're trying to approach change that way because of what the governor has laid that out as a path forward,' Francis said, referring to the piecemeal approach. 'We didn't really see eminent domain as that big of an issue as her office is making it out to be.' The state has not exercised eminent domain over tribal lands since the Settlement Act, a point Fredette also made on the House floor. This also means that, currently, the state's ability to exercise eminent domain over tribal lands is not actually clear. 'I suspect that even if the state were going to attempt to take a piece of tribal land by eminent domain, it would be sufficiently litigated frankly for years before that were to happen,' Fredette said on the floor, 'and so I think this is a bill that's in search of a problem.' Meanwhile, Francis said the likelihood of litigation is a reason to clarify rights now in the bill. 'It leaves open legal questions that ultimately will end up having to be resolved by a court,' Francis said. 'We're trying to resolve it amicably because there's always room for conversation in the future if [the state] needed land.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
