Mohegan Tribe plans lawsuit over smoking bill

Thursday, March 26, 2009  

The Mohegan Tribe will sue the state of Connecticut and withhold gaming revenues if lawmakers pass a bill to ban smoking at casinos, Chairman Bruce "Two Dogs" Bozsum said on Wednesday.

In letters to Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R) and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D), Bozsum said the bill is a threat to tribal sovereignty. ”I cannot and will not allow this legislative affront to go unchallenged,” he said, according to news reports.

The bill requires the Mohegan Tribe and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation to abide by the state's ban on smoking in public places. The tribes would have to eliminate smoking at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino by October 1, 2011.

The tribe's reservations fall under state civil and criminal jurisdiction but health and safety issues are part of the Class III gaming compact. The tribes say negotiation is the proper avenue to address smoking.

Get the Story:
Mohegans Fighting Proposed Smoking Ban (The Hartford Courant 3/26)
Mohegans threaten suit over smoking (The New London Day 3/26)
Committee's inclusion of deadline upsets local lawmakers who fear sovereignty fight (The New London Day 3/26)
Tribes upset over bill to ban smoking at casinos (AP 3/25)