Conn. Smoking Ban vs. Sovereignty

A bill that would ban smoking at Indian-owned casinos in Connecticut is making its way through the state legislature, but will it be able to make it through the courts if the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes decide it smacks in the face of sovereignty? 

The bill prevent the state’s Department of Consumer Protection from issuing a tribally owned casino a liquor permit unless it has a written agreement with the state “concerning the reduction, removal and monitoring of secondhand smoke” in the casino. The goal is to phase in a smoking ban at the casinos – Foxwoods Resort Casino, MGM Grand at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun -- by October 1, 2011.

 You can read more here.