Senate taps NMC students for Saipan casino survey

The Senate leadership is tapping Northern Marianas College students under the current issues class of Sam McPhetres to survey registered voters whether they want casino gambling to be legalized on Saipan, even as the House takes no action on a Senate bill seeking a special election for the same question.

Sen. Ralph Torres (R-Saipan), author of Senate Bill 17-90, said yesterday that senators will go over the details of the survey with McPhetres this week.

“We would like to give the opportunity to NMC students to be part of the process in asking the voters whether they want casinos on Saipan,” Torres said in a phone interview.

McPhetres’ current issues classes have been involved in surveys and studies of the hottest issues in the community, including the reunification of the CNMI and Guam, the impact of the federal minimum wage increases on CNMI people’s living conditions, primary causes of domestic violence, addiction to poker gambling, and impact of stray animals.

Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota) and Torres said they would like the survey to use the Commonwealth Election Commission’s roster of registered voters, and request as “observers” personnel from the Office of the Public Auditor and the Office of the Attorney General to make the process “more credible.”

The Senate is looking at having at least three polling centers to cover the central, northern, and southern areas of Saipan.

If the House passes SB 17-90, which calls for a special election to ask voters on their views about Saipan casino legalization, then there won’t be a need to tap NMC students to do a survey on the same issue, Torres said.

House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan) said SB 17-90 does not identify a source of funding for the special election. He said a regular election costs $65,000 to $80,000, although the special election that the Senate envisions won’t be as costly.

The House is expected to hold a session this week, but there’s no telling whether SB 17-90 will be on the calendar.

This comes at a time when the Fitial administration is still reviewing a local bill that the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation passed, seeking to legalize casinos on Saipan.

Acting governor Eloy S. Inos said they have 40 days to act on the bill. The delegation transmitted the local casino bill to the governor on Aug. 29.

But even before the governor could act on the local bill, the House leadership is already working on another House casino bill that will require Senate action.

A House casino bill was dead on arrival at the Senate last year, with senators saying the decision to legalize casino gambling on Saipan should rest with voters. Since then, the Saipan delegation worked on and passed a local bill to legalize gambling on Saipan, but the Senate said such local bill is “unconstitutional.”

The Senate is still poised to bring the matter to court, but is giving the House time to act on SB 17-90.

Lawmakers supporting a Saipan casino legislation said this is one industry that can help sustain the local economy at this time of partial payless paydays, work hour cuts and joblessness.

Unlike Saipan, Tinian and Rota voters have long voted to allow casinos on their islands.