Torres vetoes poker bill

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres vetoed yesterday a bill that would have allowed some poker arcades to keep operating in some villages on Saipan, in violation of a law that now requires them to move out.

Torres vetoed House Local Bill 20-48, S1, saying he has concerns with the bill.

The bill, authored by Rep. John Paul Sablan (R-Saipan), would rezone certain lots across Saipan as mixed commercial districts, which would allow for the operation of adult gaming establishments, including poker parlors, in these areas.

“While I agree with the interest and intent of the delegation to support the economic growth and business development and provide funding to important community activities, I am unable to approve of H.L.B. 20-48, S1 as I maintain reservations about the nature of the economic growth if this bill were to be enacted,” Torres said in his veto transmittal letter to Sablan, who chairs the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, which passed the bill.

According to a previous statement from Sablan, the poker machines affected would cost the CNMI government about $1.4 million in revenue from the annual poker machine licensing fee. The $1.4 million also acts as a source of revenue for the scholarship program Saipan Higher Education Financial Assistance.

Torres told Sablan, however, that he is “proud of previous actions taken by the Legislature in effectively transferring gambling activities away from our villages and creating the framework to eliminate any harm their presence can bring to our community. I still believe this policy is necessary and [I] am confident our joint efforts in creating economic growth in various other sectors of our economy can provide the resources of the constituents of [Saipan and the Northern Islands].”

Torres did acknowledge the substantial loss of revenue to the programs supported by funding provided by poker and pachinko license fees. “Revenue from these fees supports worthwhile activities such as the Northern Marianas Trades Institute, non-profit and community organizations throughout our community, and the SHEFA program, which is a crucial lifeline to students of our islands who wish to improve their lives through higher education,” he said, adding that he recently enacted S.L.L. 20-24, which allocates $3.3 million from the poker and pachinko license fees toward NMTI, the CNMI Drug Court, the Micronesia Islands Nature Alliance, and several infrastructure projects on Saipan.

The Commonwealth Zoning Office earlier opposed the bill, saying it completely contradicts a previous Saipan Local Law—S.L.L. 18-5–which moves poker establishments away from villages.