Gaming committee hopes for CCC bill’s passage

The House Gaming Committee will be working on the passage of House Bill 21-11, a piece of legislation that would clarify the Commonwealth Casino Commission’s powers. The bill was first introduced in the 20th Legislature as H.B. 20-82, but it failed to get the needed three-fourths vote when it returned to the House during their lame-duck session.

Vice speaker Lorenzo I. Deleon Guerrero (R-Saipan) re-introduced the same bill as House Bill 21-11, the Commonwealth Casino Commission Amendment, which would make changes to the Commonwealth Code, given the CCC’s unique regulatory oversight.

Gaming Committee chair Ralph N. Yumul (R-Saipan) said H.B. 21-11 already incorporates the changes made by the Senate during the 20th Legislature, including the recommendations made by the CNMI Office of the Attorney General.

“As soon as the [Gaming Committee] is ready, we’re going to seek…comments from concerned parties and try to pass this bill,” said Yumul. “I know the commission needs some type of defining its authority, the unique authority they have in regulatory oversight. But, we [Gaming Committee] are going to go and look into it [H.B. 21-11] carefully.”

He added that they might pass H.B. 21-11 in parts, leaving behind the AG’s other concerns. “I know the AG still has some issues with it [H.B. 21-11]. We might have to piecemeal it and make some of its [provisions] become law.”

“[As for the] other issues that the AG objects to, we can take that out for now and see how we can at least pass some of it. The [Gaming] Committee has not yet gotten together to decide on how are we going to go about this.”

Yumul said he’s letting the other committee members review the bill before calling for a meeting. “We’re just giving time for the other members to go over the bill and see if they have other concerns.”

“There are a few returning [House] members that voted no [in the last Legislature] and we need to see what are their reasons and other concerns. From there, maybe we can reach a compromise.”
 
CCC to cooperate

CCC executive director Edward Deleon Guerrero said at their last board meeting that they are going to work with the House Gaming Committee regarding H.B. 21-11, especially since there is a proposal to include poker, e-gaming, and pachinko under its regulatory powers.

Deleon Guerrero said Public Law 18-56, the Exclusive Gaming License Act that created the CCC, does not allow them to regulate poker, e-gaming, and pachinko. “We want to discuss this with the [Gaming Committee] chair and the members because we really do need to tighten up P.L. 18-56.”

“Poker, pachinko, e-gaming are really kind of outside our realm. Let’s just take care of the casino, then fix it.”

CCC commissioner Alvaro Santos, during the same meeting, said it has been three years since P.L. 18-56 was enacted but the amendment bill still has not gone through. “We crafted a piece of legislation which included our oversight on poker, but then some outside forces were stronger than our lobbying, that the Legislature decided to finally take it out.”

“And they don’t want the CCC to regulate the poker industry, so I don’t know where this issue is going. I don’t think the issue is going anywhere unless the new Legislature has the political will to address these and talk seriously with the [commission] about regulating this industry. There’s too many forces out there working against our mandate.”