Attorney General Richard Blumenthal decided Thursday that the state has the authority to ban smoking at two casinos belonging to the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes.
Blumenthal said there’s a clause in the compact between the tribes and the state that allows the state to regulate health and safety standards. In his letter to the state’s top two legislative leaders he writes, “Principles of sovereignty in no way bar this measure, because the Tribes have already agreed—as a condition of the Compacts—to adopt public health standards at least as rigorous as the State’s public health laws.” However, Blumenthal said he prefers to avoid litigation.
Click here to read the nine-page letter outlining his argument or here to read about why union members want to ban smoking in the casinos.
