There are 10 ongoing petition drives to put proposed law changes on the ballot, ranging from a casino in Oxford County to repeal of the school consolidation law, but only one group claims to have the signatures needed to meet the January deadline for consideration in 2008.

Casino proponent Seth Carey, of Rumford, said he expects to have 76,000 signatures to hand into the Secretary of State, who must verify the names on the petitions are valid. The required number for the citizen initiatives now being circulated is 55,087.

"I don't want to be confident until I hear back from the Secretary of State," said Carey, out of fear of jinxing the outcome, but "I'm pretty happy with the interest from fellow citizens."

Carey and his company, Evergreen Mountain, want to put a privately run casino in an Oxford County town near the Sunday River Ski Resort. Carey said the exact location has yet to be determined, but he'd like five to 10 communities to have a chance to vote on hosting the resort.

First he must get the casino approved on a statewide ballot, and Carey believes he has the signatures to put it before voters in November.

Others, like Lawrence "Skip" Greenlaw, who is spearheading the effort to repeal the school consol- dation law, are still hoping to make the deadline, but have farther to go.

Greenlaw says he has 14,431 signatures in hand and another 22,838 gathered for a total of 37,269. That means his group, the Maine Coalition to Save Schools, would need to get 17,818 in less than a month to qualify for the November 2008 ballot.

The deadline for nine of the 10 petitions in circulation is Jan. 28, to give the Legislature time to consider adopting the proposals in the upcoming session. The Oxford County casino petition needs to be handed in by Jan. 12, since it has been in circulation since July 12, 2006, and is up against an 18-month deadline, after which the petition expires under the law.

Greenlaw said he would remain optimistic until the very end.

"It makes me sick to think we won't have enough signatures and this thing will go on for another year," he said.

But if he misses the Jan. 28 deadline, Greenlaw's plan is to keep moving ahead. He said personally he would like to see what the Legislature does this session to amend the law, and then fashion a new petition to specifically address those changes.

"This law is broken. It's not fixable. It needs to be repealed," he said.

The current law, passed in 2007 as part of the state budget, calls for school districts to consolidate into no more than 80 units statewide, with 2,500 students where possible, but not less than 1,200.

Another hot button issue being addressed in the petition drives is a tax and spending limit. It has been dubbed TABOR 2 after the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, which was defeated by a 54 to 46 percent vote in 2006.

Portland Attorney David Crocker, who is heading that drive based on legislation crafted by the Maine Heritage Policy Center, said he was not at liberty to say how many signatures his group has collected.

"I'd like to think we'll get them all by the end of January," Crocker said. "We'll give it the college try."

If not, "it will be full speed ahead" to get it on the November 2009 ballot, he said.

Other petitions in circulation include:

An Act to Establish the Maine Public Real Estate Listing Service, proposed by Stavros Mendros of Lewiston, and facing an 18-month deadline of Feb. 21, 2008.

An Act Regarding Campaign Promises, proposed by Arthur Kyricos of York Harbor, facing a Feb. 15, 2009, 18-month deadline.

An Act to Decrease the Automobile Excise Tax and Promote Energy Efficiency, proposed by Roy Lenardson of Scarborough, facing a March 14, 2009, 18-month deadline.

An Act to Expand Affordable Health Insurance Choices in Maine, proposed by Joel Allumbaugh of Gardiner and based on legislation written by the Maine Heritage Policy Center, facing an April 23, 2009, 18-month deadline.

An Act to Create Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Persons Convicted of Certain Sex Offenses Against Victims Under 12 Years of Age, proposed by Stavros Mendros of Lewiston, facing a May 1, 2009, 18-month deadline.

An Act to Establish the Maine Medical Marijuana Act, sponsored by Jonathan Leavitt of Sumner, facing a May 2, 2009, 18-month deadline.

Petition language is still pending before the Secretary of State that deals with an Act Regarding the Maine Universal Healthcare System, proposed by Tracey Twitchell Grant of Hallowell.