About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

1998 Connecticut Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (1998)

handle is hein.sag/sagct0017 and id is 1 raw text is: 1998 Formal Opinion, Attorney General of Connecticut

Attorney General's Opinion
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal
January 12, 1998
George F. Wandrak
Acting Executive Director
Division of Special Revenue
P.O. Box 11424
Newington, CT 06111
Dear Mr. Wandrak:
You have asked for an opinion regarding the interpretation of certain provisions of the
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), originally executed April 25, 1994, between the State of
Connecticut and the Mohegan Tribe (Tribe) which permits the Tribe to operate video facsimile
games as long as the Tribe contributes to the State a percentage of the revenue generated from
those games in accordance with the terms of the MOU. In particular, a dispute has arisen between
the Division of Special Revenue (Division) and the Tribe concerning how to calculate certain
payments. The Tribe believes that the payment reduction provisions or offsets contained in
paragraph 2 of the MOU take precedence over the Minimum Contribution provisions of
Paragraph 5.
The Division believes that the Minimum Contribution provisions of paragraph 5 take
precedence. As a practical matter, the issue is whether the Tribe is entitled to take the offsets
allowed in paragraph 2 of the MOU, even in years when the Tribe's percentage of payments falls
below the Minimum Contribution amounts required by paragraph 5. We agree with the Division's
interpretation.
By way of background, on April 25, 1994, then Governor Lowell Weicker and the Tribe
signed an Agreement (the Agreement) which was intended to resolve a number of then
outstanding issues and disputes between the State and the Tribe, including the Tribe's land claims
against the State and to avoid litigation concerning the existence and scope of the State's present
obligation pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to negotiate with the tribe. . . to enter
into a Tribal-State compact governing the conduct of gaming activities on the Tribe's lands.
Agreement, p.3. On the same day, and pursuant to the Agreement, the State and the Tribe agreed
to the Gaming Compact, which governs the Tribe's gaming activities and other matters, and the
MOU.

1998-001 Page 1 of 7

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most