A legislative committee voted unanimously Monday to fix what it says is “a mistake” buried in Maine’s nearly 1,000-page two-year budget.
The wording in question limits the prize any non-profit can award in a fund-raising raffle to $1,000. Republican state Sen. Roger Katz, of Augusta, says it's not clear how the provision ended up in the budget.
“No one seems to know what happened here," he says. "No one I have spoken with thinks the change was a good idea or recalls any in-depth discussion of it.”
Katz and several others at the hearing say several non-profits across the state count on raffles with much larger prizes to raise money.
The Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee voted unanimously to recommend passage of the language change, and to include an emergency provision to have the change take effect with the governor’s signature.
