The application for the Category 1 gaming license in Region C is due to the Commission by September 30, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.  The Applicant is required to submit executed agreements with surrounding communities, as defined by Massachusetts General Law c. 23K, § 2 and the Commission’s regulations (e.g. 205 CMR 125.00) with its application, or identify in the application those communities that it believes to be surrounding communities.  The applicant is simultaneously required to submit agreements with or identify Impacted Live Entertainment Venues (“ILEV”) pursuant to 205 CMR 126.00.

This notice is meant to remind communities/ILEVs about important provisions of the Commission’s regulations.  A summary of important provisions has been available on the Commission’s regulations Web site page and the Host and Surrounding Community page.  The summary describes the three ways a community may be designated as a surrounding community.  To be so designated, a community may:

1. Have executed a surrounding community agreement by the application deadline;
2. Be designated by an applicant as a surrounding community in an applicant’s application and assent in writing to such designation within 10 days of receipt of the application by the Commission; or,
3. Be designated as a surrounding community after a successful petition to the Commission made within 10 days of the application deadline

Important Upcoming Dates

• September 30, 2015 is the deadline for submission of Category 1 Gaming License application in Region C.
• October 13, 2015 is the deadline for Surrounding Community/ILEV petitions (including proof of service upon the applicant) to be submitted to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
• Additionally, the deadline for letters of assent by Surrounding Communities designated in an Application to be filed with the MGC is October 13, 2015.
• The applicant may provide a response to any Surrounding Community/ILEV petitions to the Commission by October 23, 2015 (or ten days after receipt by Commission of petition).
• After the response by the applicant is submitted, the Commission will schedule a date for presentations by the applicant and any Surrounding Community/ILEV petitioners. It is likely that such parties will present new information during the presentations supplementing the information provided on any petition or response.  These presentations will be on October 28, 2015.
• After the presentations by Surrounding Community/ILEV petitioners on petitions for designation, if granted, the Commission will provide a written designation on a date to be determined.
• The Commission has stated its intention to begin the 30-day statutory negotiation period at the same time for both those Surrounding Communities/ILEVs designated in an application and those determined to be Surrounding Communities/ILEVs after the petition process.
• The applicant and designated Surrounding Community/ILEV have 30 days to negotiate a signed agreement. The beginning of the 30-day statutory negotiation period for the Surrounding Community/ILEV’s and applicant begins after the written designation is issued.
• If there are communities/ILEV’s that are not able to reach an agreement, the binding arbitration process will begin upon the end of the 30-day statutory period.

The Commission’s protocols require the gaming applicant to provide a copy of its application (redacted to protect confidential information) to geographically adjacent communities contemporaneous with its filing of the complete RFA-2 application.

Further information about the host and surrounding community process can be found on the Commission’s Web site, www.massgaming.com, notably including its page dedicated to host and surrounding communities and the Overview of the Licensing Process.  As noted on this Web site:

A Surrounding Community is a municipality in proximity to a host community that the Commission determines experiences or is likely to experience impacts from the development or operation of a gaming establishment. Under the Gaming Act, gaming applicants are required to submit “signed agreements between the surrounding communities and the applicant setting forth the conditions to have a gaming establishment located in proximity to the surrounding communities and documentation of public outreach to those surrounding communities.” The Commission promulgated a regulation further defining the term “surrounding community” for gaming applications and other purposes. In this regulation, the Commission further defines the factors it will use in determining which communities are “surrounding communities”, if such communities have not already been designated as surrounding communities in an applicant’s RFA-2 application. Applicants for gaming licenses have the primary responsibility for determining whether a community is a “surrounding community” to be included in its application.  However, the Gaming Act establishes a procedure for the Commission to decide whether a community is a “surrounding community” even though the applicant has not included an agreement with that community in its RFA-2 application to the MGC.  In the event an applicant has not been able to reach an agreement with a surrounding community prior to the RFA-2 application, the Gaming Act specifies that gaming applicants and surrounding communities will have thirty days to negotiate an agreement before the Commission implements protocols and procedures to ensure the conclusion of a fair and reasonable agreement.

Non-Adjacent Communities* May Sign-Up to Receive Direct Copy of Portions of Gaming Applications

Any non-adjacent community that would like to receive a copy of a redacted application can request to be added to the Commission’s list for receiving such application.  To do so, a community should follow the e-mail instructions on the Commission’s Host Community Agreement page. Communities should note that the placement of a community on the list to receive such application does not result in the designation of that community as “surrounding community” for the purposes of the Commission’s regulations.  As stated in the Commission’s regulations, in order to become a “surrounding community”, a community may be designated by an applicant as a surrounding community in the applicant’s gaming application to the Commission, may execute a surrounding community agreement with an applicant, or may be designated as a surrounding community by the Commission upon a petition to the Commission filed no later than 10 days after the date of the application.

Communities with questions about the Commission or about the process for being designated as a surrounding community may also contact the Commission’s Ombudsman, John Ziemba, at 617.979.8400, or at john.s.ziemba@state.ma.us.

*Please note that nothing in the Commission’s regulations or the Massachusetts General Laws limit surrounding communities to ones that are geographically adjacent to a host community.  This notice (generalized) will be posted on the Commission’s Web site to be available to all communities.