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2018 HB 5305: An Act Concerning A Request For Proposals To Qualify An Entity To Develop A Casino Gaming Facility In The State.

Bill Text

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) Not later than ninety days after the effective date of this section, the Commissioners of Consumer Protection and Economic and Community Development shall jointly develop and issue a request for proposals to qualify an individual, a business organization or an Indian tribe to develop, manage, operate and maintain a possible casino gaming facility in the state.

(b) The request for proposals shall require a responder to:

(1) Provide an outline of the significant benefits that the proposed casino gaming facility will bring to the municipality in which the proposed casino gaming facility may be located, the surrounding municipalities and the state, and include a marketing and tourism plan;

(2) Submit (A) a development agreement entered into by the responder with a municipality regarding the establishment of the proposed casino gaming facility in the municipality, provided such development agreement (i) requires the responder to make an annual payment to the municipality in an amount not less than eight million dollars if and when the proposed casino gaming facility becomes operational, and (ii) was approved, notwithstanding the provisions of any municipal charter, special act or ordinance, by a referendum of the municipality not later than January 1, 2019, and (B) a plan for revenue sharing with municipalities surrounding the municipality in which the proposed casino gaming facility may be located;

(3) Submit a workforce development agreement entered into by the responder with a municipality regarding the establishment of a regional workforce development center to be located in the municipality for the purposes of training employees of the proposed casino gaming facility;

(4) Submit a market analysis detailing the benefits of the proposed casino gaming facility;

(5) Agree to make a total investment of not less than five hundred million dollars in the proposed casino gaming facility;

(6) Provide information and documentation to demonstrate that the responder has sufficient business ability, experience and financial stability to develop, manage, operate and maintain the proposed casino gaming facility;

(7) Submit the designs for the proposed casino gaming facility and a timeline for its construction;

(8) Estimate the number of employees, which shall be not less than two thousand persons, to be employed at the proposed casino gaming facility and provide information regarding the pay rate and benefits for such employees;

(9) Provide evidence that the responder has a labor neutrality agreement with organized labor for the proposed casino gaming facility;

(10) Describe a process to maximize the use of small contractors and minority business enterprises, as both terms are defined in section 4a-60g of the general statutes, and veteran-owned micro businesses, as defined in subsection (c) of section 4a-59 of the general statutes;

(11) Submit a responsible gaming plan associated with the operation of the proposed casino gaming facility;

(12) Describe the types and number of games to be conducted at the proposed casino gaming facility;

(13) Demonstrate the responder's ability to pay a one-time licensing fee of not less than fifty million dollars for a possible license to operate the proposed casino gaming facility in the state before the commencement of construction of the proposed casino gaming facility;

(14) Agree to pay to the state (A) a minimum of twenty-five per cent of the gross gaming revenue from the operation of all gambling games at the proposed casino gaming facility, and (B) a minimum of ten per cent of the gross gaming revenue from the operation of video slot machine games at the proposed casino gaming facility; and

(15) Provide any other information the commissioners deem necessary to evaluate the qualifications of a responder.

(c) Each proposal shall be submitted by January 1, 2019, and shall be accompanied by a fee of five million dollars, which shall be refundable if (1) the responder is not selected by the commissioners to be qualified and waives the right to challenge the commissioners' decision, or (2) the General Assembly does not enact legislation to authorize the operation of a casino gaming facility in the state.

(d) The commissioners shall develop selection criteria to evaluate responses and may qualify one person, business organization or Indian tribe that submits a response to the request for proposals to develop, manage, operate and maintain a possible casino gaming facility in the state.

(e) On or before April 1, 2019, the commissioners shall jointly submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public safety and security and commerce that (1) describes and summarizes the request for proposals, the responses received and the selection criteria, (2) identifies the individual, business organization or Indian tribe selected jointly by the commissioners to be qualified to develop, manage, operate and maintain a proposed casino gaming facility in the state, and (3) demonstrates that such person, business organization or Indian tribe satisfies the requirements of the request for proposal set forth in subsection (b) of this section and meets the selection criteria.

(f) No individual, business organization or Indian tribe selected by the commissioners may operate a casino gaming facility in the state until the General Assembly has enacted legislation to provide for the licensing and operation of a casino gaming facility and such legislation has taken effect.

In Section 1(a) and (d), "manage and operate" was changed to "manage, operate and maintain" for consistency, in Section 1(b)(8), "which shall be" was added for clarity, and in Section 1(c), "The response" was changed to "Each proposal" for accuracy and "enact legislation to" was added for consistency.

Behind the Bill