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Palacios, Yumul submit certified query on veto of Saipan casino bill
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Posted on Feb 01 2012
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Reporter
Reps. Joseph M. Palacios (R-Saipan) and Ray N. Yumul (R-Saipan) filed yesterday before the CNMI Supreme Court a certified question whether or not a local law enacted by the Saipan Northern Island Legislative Delegation is considered a Commonwealth law.
Palacios and Yumul submitted the certified question after Superior Court associate judge David A. Wiseman dismissed for lack of standing Palacios’ lawsuit against Gov. Benigno R. Fitial for vetoing the controversial Saipan casino bill.
Wiseman had noted in his order that the CNMI Constitution provides the certified question process as a means of redress when a dispute arises between elected officials, allowing an issue to be processed faster before the Supreme Court.
Palacios, a member of the House’s majority, and Yumul, a member of the House’s minority, filed the certified question without a lawyer.
In their statement of facts, the two said they are following Wiseman’s directive and seeking redress.
Palacios and Yumul said that Public Law 3-77 states that in case the governor vetoes a local bill, the Legislature may override the governor’s veto by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of each house of the Legislature.
However, the lawmakers said, if House Local Bill 17-44 was over-ridden by both houses of the Legislature, the enacted law still remains a local law, and the status of the local law in this case remains subject to the issue: “Is a local law a Commonwealth law and what about this relationship to Article 21 of the NMI Constitution?”
Palacios, as chairman of SNILD’s Committee on Judicial and Governmental Operations, had recommended passage of House Local Bill 17-44 to legalize casino gaming by exempting Saipan from the Commonwealth-wide prohibition on gambling.
The delegation passed the bill on Aug. 26, 2011. Yumul voted against the passage of the bill, stating that a local law enacted by the delegation is not a Commonwealth law.
Fitial subsequently vetoed the bill.
