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The direction of casino expansion in Connecticut could be altered dramatically under legislation proposed Wednesday that would allow more potential operators to make pitches to the state and not just the operators of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.

The legislature's public safety and security committee, which oversees gaming, will consider two bills on the expansion of casino gambling. One supports opening up the process with a license issued by the state consumer protection commissioner. The other would allow a joint venture of the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans to build on their preferred site in East Windsor.

"It is important that we have the two competing bills introduced to begin the public discussion with respect to the expansion of gaming," Rep. Joe Verrengia, D-West Hartford and co-chairman of the public safety committee, said Wednesday. "These are the two issues at the root of whether or not it is in the best interest of the state to expand gaming."

Verrengia said he expects public hearings will be scheduled on the bills for next week. The committee has a March 16 deadline to send bills to the House and Senate.

Sen. Timothy D. Larson, D-East Hartford and co-chairman of public safety, said his firm support for the tribes' vision for expansion is unwavering.

"There was some sense from the public safety committee that there had to be a second option," Larson said. "In the interest of moving this along, I didn't want to create any logjam. People will be able to come to a public hearing with another option."

Supporters of casino expansion in the Hartford area frame it as a strategy to respond to the competitive threat of a $950 million casino and entertainment complex in Springfield being built by MGM Resorts International.

A satellite casino, they say, would preserve jobs tied directly and indirectly to the state's gambling industry and guard against further erosion of slot revenue the state receives monthly from Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.

Andrew Doba, a spokesman for the tribal joint venture, declined Wednesday to comment on the competing bill, but said, "As we've said from the beginning, our project will save thousands of Connecticut jobs and millions in state revenue."

Critics say lawmakers in 2015 shouldn't have given the partnership of the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans — MMCT Venture — the sole right to pursue a third location. One, MGM, is pursuing a court challenge and along with other opponents argues the process should be opened to more competitors, giving the state more options alongside MMCT's vision.

Neither bill addresses what is at the heart of the expansion: the state's share of slot machine revenue.

Allowing other operators into Connecticut could jeopardize those payments, now roughly $200 million a year.

The state's two-decades-old agreements with the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans say that if another casino were permitted off tribal lands, the tribes would no longer be obligated to make slot payments to the state.

But there are also concerns about the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans expanding off their reservations and how that would affect the same agreements. A preliminary ruling from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs last year said it shouldn't, but the ruling wasn't binding and came before the change in presidential administrations.

The issue may have to be dealt with in negotiations with the state and not through legislation, Verrengia said. If an open, competitive process was adopted, it also is unclear at what point the agreements with the tribes would be violated, he said.

On Monday, MMCT said it selected the long-vacant Showcase Cinemas property off I-91 in East Windsor after more than a year of evaluating sites. MMCT would invest up to $300 million in redeveloping the property for 2,000 slot machines, 50 to 150 tables, restaurants, shops and entertainment space.

Verrengia said the competing bill was a direct result of an informational meeting conducted by the public safety committee last week with key players in the expansion debate. Questions were raised by committee members on the future of gaming in Connecticut.

He cautioned that the proposed bills could change through the public hearing process.

"I want to get a bill out of the committee to let the full House and Senate decide," Verrengia said. "It deserves the attention of the full legislature."