HARTFORD — The Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on a revised bill that would delay the pace of building a new tribal casino and also require a second approval vote that could be pushed into next year.
Senate leaders expect the bipartisan bill to pass the 36-member chamber, where legislators on both sides of the aisle have been split on the idea of building another casino to battle out-of-state competition.
The revised bill creates a two-step process in which towns would submit proposals to the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, who have discussed building a jointly operated facility in northern Connecticut to compete with an $800 million MGM Resorts International casino in Springfield that is under construction.
After the tribes decide on a winner among the proposals, the legislature would vote to approve the arrangement. The new draft of the casino bill was made public Monday, and many legislators didn’t see the new language until Tuesday.
A special session could be called this year to approve the winning location, but a vote could be pushed into the next regular session that begins in February 2016, officials said.
While the tribes are working to open a new casino before the Springfield casino opens around Christmas 2017, the site selection and construction process in Connecticut could take 17 months, officials said.
Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said he did not see the delay as excessive, adding that the two tribes did not present their proposal for additional casinos until mid-March. Rather than the original proposal calling for up to three new casinos, lawmakers are now focusing on just one casino.
“It has to move in stages,” Looney said. “It is the most prudent way to move forward.”
Legislators have been negotiating the details of the three-page bill, which is far shorter than the original 16-page version that was released in March. The new bill, for example, does not require towns to hold a referendum to approve a casino. The local approval process would be left up to the towns.
Attorney General George Jepsen has raised concerns about constructing another casino, but Jepsen’s office is not publicly opposing the new version of the bill. Jepsen had warned legislators that the earlier bill could endanger compacts with the tribes that share millions of dollars in slot-machine revenues with the state.
“The draft amendment, as we understand it, does not legalize casino gaming in the state of Connecticut,” said Jaclyn M. Falkowski, a spokeswoman for Jepsen. “Legislation that does not authorize casino gaming would have no impact on the current agreements between the tribes and the state and would not increase or otherwise affect the likelihood of the state being obligated under federal law to negotiate a gaming compact with tribes that may gain federal recognition in the future.” The two existing casinos are on sovereign Indian land in southeastern Connecticut.
Lawmakers are keenly aware that construction of a casino could lead to legal challenges, which is mentioned in the latest working draft of the bill.
“If a court of competent jurisdiction holds any provision of this section unconstitutional, the remaining provisions of this section shall be inoperative and have no effect,” the draft states.
Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said that he expects the bill to be approved.
“The tribes are for this language,” Duff said Tuesday night. “They support the bill.”
Although the competition would be open to all towns under the draft, the tribes have been focused on the I-91 corridor in northern Connecticut.
East Windsor First Selectman Denise Menard said the town continues to closely watch the situation and gauge community sentiment, especially because changes can still be made in the legislation. She said residents currently seem split on the proposal that could transform any of the large, vacant buildings along I-91 in East Windsor into a casino.
“We really kind of need to wait and see what the next step is,” Menard said. “One casino makes it a little more competitive for certain, but I’m still convinced that if there’s one place to put it, East Windsor has the ideal location. It’s going to be a process to watch, for sure, and we are. We all need to be on top of where this is headed.”
In East Hartford, town leaders met with tribal officials last month to discuss a developer’s proposal to turn the vacant Showcase Cinemas on Silver Lane, off I-84 near Rentschler Field, into a $138 million casino. East Hartford Mayor Marcia Leclerc did not return telephone calls or emails seeking comment Tuesday.
“Not only am I excited about the possibility of being chosen as a host community, I am equally excited about the positive support it is receiving in our community,” Leclerc said earlier. “This development project could positively impact and spur development along the Silver Lane corridor, complement the Rentschler Field stadium events, attract visitors to support the future outlet center and entertainment zones being planned for the Rentschler Field development and continue to keep the revenue funding to communities from declining further.”
In another development Tuesday, Jepsen’s office released correspondence with the tribes under a Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Courant. An email from Jepsen’s office provides details about a proposed letter from the tribes to the Department of the Interior, which oversees tribal issues, regarding the complicated compacts between the tribes and the state.
“Only a federal court would have jurisdiction to adjudicate the parties’ rights under the compacts, including the question about whether any particular agreement constitutes an amendment to the compacts requiring DOI approval,” wrote Robert W. Clark, special counsel to Jepsen.
“While an agreement by the tribes and informal guidance from DOI may help mitigate some of the risks we outlined in our April 15, 2015 letter to legislative leaders, they would not eliminate those risks.”
The money contributed to the state by the two tribes as part of a revenue-sharing deal has been falling steadily since reaching a peak of $430 million in the 2007 fiscal year. That total is projected to drop by more than half, to $189 million, in the 2018 fiscal year because of the opening of the Springfield casino and continuing competition from slot machines at Yonkers Raceway in Westchester County, N.Y., and Aqueduct racetrack in New York City.
Courant staff writer Jordan Otero and columnist Dan Haar contributed to this story.
