Legislative outcome disappoints tribal officials

Both tribal and state members of a work group that had recommended legislation to make changes in the Maine Implementing Act, the companion legislation to the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, are disappointed with the outcome. The bill that was passed into law removed most of the changes being proposed, leaving only recognition of the Houlton Band of Maliseets and greater authority for the band over its tribal courts and in its jurisdiction, and a new classification in state law for the four federally recognized tribes, making it clear that they are not municipalities.

However, much of the original bill was eliminated, including proposals to exempt the tribes for the state's Freedom of Access laws; to institute mandatory mediation by the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission (MITSC) for tribal-state disputes; and to require mandatory consultation with the tribes prior to any legislative or regulatory change by the state that may have an impact on the tribes.

Passamaquoddy Rep. Donald Soctomah, a member of the work group, comments, "The tribes put all on the table, what they wanted to address. Most got chopped, but it didn't surprise a lot of people." He adds, "The tribe spent the whole summer and fall going over this. We feel now it was a waste of time and effort."

Soctomah, though, does not suggest that ties with the state be severed, as some Penobscot tribal officials have urged. He notes that the Penobscot Nation had additional setbacks during this legislative session. Not only was the Penobscot proposal for slot machines at its high-stakes bingo facility vetoed by Governor Baldacci, but the tribe also wanted to expand its Indian Island reservation onto Penobscot trust land on the other side of the Penobscot River in order to allow for more housing. The legislature, though, turned down the proposal.

Senator Kevin Raye of Perry, who also was a member of the work group, says the legislation that emerged "bore little resemblance to the discussions in the tribal-state work group." He says members of the work group were angered by the liberties that were taken in writing the bill. According to Raye, the work group did not discuss a different status for the Houlton Band of Maliseets so that any land purchased by the band would be held in trust for the band by the federal government. He notes that neither the Penobscot Nation nor the Passamaquoddy Tribe are allowed to do that, although they are able to place land in trust with legislative approval. He says the proposal was contested by several municipalities in Aroostook County that feared they would lose property tax revenue.

Soctomah, though, says that, in the agreement between the Maliseets and the federal government, to which the state also agreed, any land the band purchases is automatically placed in trust. He notes that the Houlton band does have to negotiate with municipalities over jurisdiction on those lands, and he adds that they make a payment in lieu of property taxes to the municipalities.

During the legislature's consideration of the bill, the Judiciary Committee recommended having the proposal to exempt the four Maine tribes from the state's Freedom of Access laws be part of the Freedom of Access law instead of the Maine Implementing Act. Soctomah says the tribes opposed the committee's proposal because it would place part of the settlement act in state law, which could then be changed by the legislature at a later time. "If it's part of the Maine Implementing Act, the state couldn't change it without tribal approval," he says, pointing out that under the committee's proposal, "We would have lost our rights."

"We're going to keep trying to modify the land claims so it's more in sync with the way the negotiators understood it," Soctomah says, noting that state, federal and tribal negotiators of the 1980 settlement act told the work group that the act would not take away the sovereignty of the tribes. "We have to change something that's not working C in the legislature, the courts or at a higher level."

Alewife passage in St. Croix River

In other legislation submitted during this session, a bill to restore the passage of alewives in the St. Croix River was amended to reopen, by May 1 of this year, the Woodland Dam but not the Grand Falls Dam. The original bill called for the opening of both dams. The legislature's Marine Resources Committee will send a letter to the Department of Marine Resources, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Passamaquoddy Joint Tribal Council urging them to work together to collect data on whether alewives historically had gone into the river beyond Grand Falls and to develop management strategies if alewives are allowed to pass beyond the Grand Falls Dam. The letter does not have the effect of law, though.

In 1995, the legislature had passed a law to prevent the passage of alewives at the two dams. The closing of the river came at the request of fishing guides in Washington County who believe that alewives caused the collapse of Spednic Lake's smallmouth bass populations in the 1980s. However, a recent study commissioned by Maine Rivers indicates that smallmouth bass and alewives can co-exist. With the passage of the 1995 law, the alewife population in the St. Croix crashed from more than 2.5 million in 1987 to 1,300 fish in 2007.

TIFs in unorganized territories

A bill submitted by Senator Raye seeking $1.2 million for a new warehouse for the port of Eastport was rejected, with Raye requesting that the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee give it an ought not to pass recommendation. With the state budget crisis, he says other sources of funding will need to be sought for such projects and other rural economic development initiatives.

Raye then submitted a bill to look at using the tax increment financing (TIF) districts in the unorganized territories to fund development activity in a county. Although the bill was not passed, he says there will be discussions this summer that will involve the governor's office on how unorganized territory TIFs can be used to benefit the entire county in which the unorganized territory lies. Raye notes that most residents work in organized towns and economic projects should be able to benefit the entire county.

Heritage museum funding

A bill that had been carried over to this session to provide funding for the Downeast Heritage Museum in Calais died after receiving an ought not to pass recommendation by the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee. The bill would have provided $250,000 this year and $225,000 in 2008-09 as part of a five-year funding effort to raise $1 million for the museum.

Wild blueberry theft penalties

Legislation also was enacted to reduce the theft of wild blueberries by increasing the penalties for violation of the laws regarding transportation and receipt of wild blueberries. The bill was amended to establish illegal transportation of berries by a person with two prior convictions as a Class C crime.