House sends casino bill to Senate, again

After a two-hour debate mostly on proposed amendments, the House of Representatives passed at 5:28pm yesterday a new bill that allows casino gaming on Saipan.

This is the fourth time that the House has sent a casino gambling measure to the Senate in four years, each of them rejected in one form or another; the last one was only four months ago when senators “shelved” the third bill.

As of last night, there’s no telling whether the casino gaming bill, House Bill 18-179, House Draft 4, will be dead on arrival at the Senate or whether it will be referred to committee or acted on immediately.

The Senate will hold a session at 2pm today.

The House passed the casino bill by a vote of 11-6 with three absences. The bill’s main author is House floor leader Ralph Demapan (Cov-Saipan), with Rep. Felicidad Ogumoro (R-Saipan) as co-sponsor.

The 11 who voted “yes” to the gambling bill besides Demapan and Ogumoro were Reps. Antonio Agulto (Ind-Saipan), Antonio Benavente (Ind-Saipan), Lorenzo Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan), Christopher Leon Guerrero (Cov-Saipan), Antonio Sablan (Ind-Saipan), John Paul Sablan (Cov-Saipan), Teresita Santos (R-Rota), Richard Seman (R-Saipan), and Mario Taitano (Ind-Saipan).

The six “no” votes were from Reps. George Camacho (R-Saipan), Trenton Conner (Ind-Tinian), Janet Maratita (Ind-Saipan), Edmund Villagomez (Cov-Saipan), Ralph Yumul (Ind-Saipan), and acting speaker Frank Dela Cruz (Ind-Saipan).

Absent were Speaker Joseph Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan), Reps. Ray Tebuteb (Ind-Saipan), and Roman Benavente (Ind-Saipan).

Demapan (Cov-Saipan), main author of the bill, said he hopes the Senate will have a different view about the bill this time, given that circumstances have changed since the time senators shelved the last bill. Those circumstances include a 25-percent cut in retirees’ pension, the government’s annual payment to the settlement trust fund, and the higher cost of health insurance premiums.

“I hope and respectfully ask the Senate to seriously consider the legislation that’s before them. We need a major revenue generating bill to help our retirees and meet our obligations,” Demapan told Saipan Tribune after the session that lasted until 5:30pm yesterday.

Members debated proposed amendments, four of which were adopted.

Demapan pointed out that House Bill 18-179, House Draft 4, requires a minimum of $2 billion investment for the holder of an exclusive casino license on Saipan. But the $2 billion is not only on the casino itself and the construction of a new hotel with at least 2,000 rooms, but also on related tourism amenities.

Yumul, during debate on the bill, said it is “reckless” for the House to vote on the bill—on the day it was formally introduced and placed on calendar for action—without conducting any public hearing on it or without being referred to a committee.

“We might as well put legislation to legalize marijuana and prostitution today,” he said.

Demapan, in response, said, “You know what’s reckless? If we continue to [let] our people to suffer,” referring to the 25-percent pension cut, among other things.

Other members said similar casino gaming bills underwent public hearings before, and there were support for the bills.

Legalizing casino operations on Saipan has been a divisive issue in the CNMI for several years now. To date, only Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino is operating in the CNMI.