Senator Hartley Champions Restoration of Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Fund, Bill Passes Committee Unanimously

State Senator Joan Hartley (D-Waterbury), announced her strong support for Senate Bill 388, ‘An Act Concerning the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Fund’, following the bill’s unanimous passage out of the Appropriations Committee last week. Senator Hartley is a co-sponsor of the legislation, which would restore the fund to its original intent of distributing gaming revenues equitably to all 169 Connecticut cities and towns.

SB 388 would increase the fund’s distributions from $54 million to $152 million, ensuring that the 44 municipalities that have received no funding since 2019, including towns in Senator Hartley’s district, are once again made whole. The funding is drawn from existing tribal payments already flowing into state coffers, creating no new burden on the state budget or Connecticut taxpayers.

“For too long, municipalities across Connecticut have been shortchanged by the diversion of funds that were always meant to go to them,” said Senator Hartley. “With the state in a strong fiscal position, there is simply no justification for continuing to withhold this money from our towns and cities. This funding gives local governments the flexibility they need to maintain roads, support public safety, and ease the burden on property taxpayers.”

The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Fund was established to provide stable, non-property tax revenue to Connecticut’s municipalities from casino slot machine proceeds. For more than two decades beginning in 1993, every municipality received annual distributions through the fund. That changed in 2019, when the state overrode the statutory formula, eliminating funding for 44 communities and reducing allocations for many others as the state used the revenues to help balance its own budget.

With Connecticut now posting consistent budget surpluses and maintaining a historically strong reserve fund, advocates and legislators say the time has come to return these resources to their intended purpose.

The bill is also supported by First Selectwoman Jennifer Mahr. In her written testimony, she says, “This bill takes an important and long-overdue step toward restoring the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Fund to what it was always intended to be: a reliable, equitable source of municipal aid for all 169 Connecticut cities and towns. When I campaigned for office last fall, all I heard was a cry to make Connecticut more affordable, especially for seniors and families. The simplest and easiest way to make progress toward this collective goal is to provide diverse revenue streams for towns and cities.”

Several other Mayors, First Selectwomen and First Selectmen have given their support with written testimony that can be found here.

SB 388 now advances to the full Senate for consideration.