501 signatures for Saipan casino initiative submitted to OAG

Proponents of a Saipan casino popular initiative submitted to the Office of the Attorney General on Thursday afternoon 501 signatures, much less than the estimated 2,500 required to place the casino question on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Dr. Jack Angello said Friday that the 501 signatures he submitted Thursday are just the “initial submission,” and that he would continue to work to get some 2,000 more signatures within the 30-day late filing period. He said the 501 signatures included that of the governor.

“We are asking the attorney general to follow the NMI Administrative Code 5-50-245 and accept our late filing submission, which I believe falls in line with the island way of doing things,” he told Saipan Tribune, referring to the practice of doing things at the last minute, and in this case, of people signing the initiative right before the deadline.

Angello said the group still has lots of packets circulating, and is encouraging people to continue to sign the petitions.

He said the group will have a meeting today for the “real push” to be able to gather the needed number of signatures for the question of whether or not Saipan voters want to legalize casino gaming on Saipan be placed on the ballot this coming midterm elections.

“We are not giving up, and we hope people will really see that we are in serious economic jeopardy. This has a definite prospect to generate revenues,” Angello said.

The CNMI budget has gone from over $200 million to $102 million in just a span of a few years, forcing the government to implement 16-hour work cuts biweekly to still keep everyone instead of allowing them to lose their jobs.

In the cover letter of his filing with the OAG on Thursday, Angello said “Any further signatures needed will be submitted prior to the deadline for the ‘Accepted Late-filed Petitions Regarding Commonwealth-wide or Local Law,’ pursuant to NMI Administrative Code 5-50-245.”

That NMIAC provisions says, “All initiative or referendum petitions regarding amendments to Commonwealth-wide or local laws submitted with the required number of signatures to the attorney general.no later (sic) one-hundred and twenty days prior to the next general election shall be accepted late-filed initiative petitions. The attorney general will accept all such accepted late-filed initiative petitions for certification. The attorney general shall not certify any petitions that are submitted after this deadline.”

In February 2005, the attorney general at the time stated in response to questions about late-filing: “Petitions for Commonwealth-wide or local initiatives are not required to be filed 150 days prior to general elections.”

The AG had said, “The attorney general has proposed the early and late filing periods to attempt to spread out the time during which it receives petitions for certification. It has encouraged individuals to file during the early period (150 days before elections) by giving them an opportunity to gather more signatures if too many signatures are struck.”

“Individuals can file petitions for Commonwealth-wide or local initiatives as late as 120 days before general election. Individuals filing during the late but acceptable period will not, however, given a second chance to collect more signatures,” the AG said in an opinion published in the Feb. 17, 2005, Commonwealth Register.

Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota) hopes the proponents of the Saipan casino popular initiative will be able to gather the required number of signatures “so that people can decide on the issue once and for all.”

If the popular initiative fails, Manglona believes its proponents will come back to the Legislature again and push for the passage of a bill legalizing casino gaming on Saipan.

The Senate killed two House bills legalizing casino operations on Saipan in 2010 and 2012.

In between, the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation introduced and passed a local bill to legalize casinos on Saipan but Gov. Benigno R. Fitial vetoed the local bill, saying legalizing casino gaming through local legislation instead of through Commonwealth-wide law is unconstitutional.

Saipan voters also twice rejected legalizing casino gaming on Saipan.

Proponents of the repeal of Article 12 or the land alienation provision of the NMI Constitution are also having difficulty mustering enough signatures to place the question on the Nov. 6 ballot. Instead, they are now working to place the question on the ballot in the November 2014 general elections.