Some House members reluctantly back appropriation bill

Some members of the House of Representatives hesitantly accepted a recently passed Senate version of the casino license renewal fee appropriation because it included clauses that made allocation that should have been made at the delegation level.

Although Rep. Ivan A. Blanco’s (R-Saipan) House Bill 21-78 passed unanimously Tuesday afternoon during a House session on Capitol Hill, at least three members expressed reluctance in supporting the Senate version of the bill, which allocated the remaining $11.5 million from the annual Casino License Renewal fee payment.

Rep. Janet Maratita (R-Saipan) said she “strongly believes” that each senatorial district should be allowed to work on legislations that specifically caters to their respective issues.

“I support this bill, but strongly feel that we should not be put in this predicament. I’d rather [let] each senatorial district sit down and take care of their own challenges; they know [their situation] best,” Maratita said in her comments on the bill.

“I hope this would be the last legislation [like this]. We should allow the first and second senatorial district to do their own legislations on local appropriations for their respective local matters,” she added.

The Senate version of the legislation took funds that were supposed to go to the three local legislative delegations for appropriation and reallocated them to other government obligations.

Rep. Tina Sablan (Ind-Saipan) echoed Maratita, saying she too believes that the appropriation should be discussed at the delegation level. She supported the bill regardless.

“I am comfortable…with the provisions that pertain to appropriations for Rota and I share the same reservations with interfering in decisions that should rightfully be the jurisdictions of the delegations,” she said.

‘It’s inequitable to Rota’

Rep. Donald Manglona (Ind-Rota) expressed the most reluctance out of the 15 others who voted to accept the Senate version, describing it as “inequitable” for Rota. He did still support its passage due to its urgency.

“In the past five years, Rota has spent $8.5 million of the $10 million that was appropriated, while Tinian has spent it’s $10 million, and Saipan spent its entire allocation [totaling $47.5 million],” he said.

According to Public Law 20-10, the annual Casino License Renewal fee is divvied up between the Tinian and Aguiguan Legislative Delegation, the Rota Legislative Delegation, and the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation at $2 million, $2 million, and $9.5 million, respectively.

The remaining $1.5 million goes to the Saipan and Higher Education Financial Assistance program.

“We were told that the [Rota delegation] owed [the central government over] $500,000, which was why one of my first bills were vetoed, yet Tinian and Saipan are still allowed to appropriate its share of the annual casino license fees without having to pay back what was overspent,” he said.

“And yet here we are, appropriating $290,000 to pay a balance. …This is inequitable for Rota as we are actually owed $1.4 million,” he said, referring to P.L. 20-10’s mandate entitling the Rota delegation to $2 million of the annual Casino License Renewal fee.

H.B. 21-78 appropriates $290,000 for Rota Legislative Delegation obligations to the general fund; $220,000 for the monthly subsistence allowance for May through October 2019 of 126 Rota dialysis and terminally ill patients; $65,000 for the Rota interisland medical referral patients and escort stipends; $50,000 for the partial payment to Sun Palace Rota patient’s lodging costs; $15,000 for vehicle maintenance for the Rota Liaison Office on Saipan; $25,000 for the Rota Health Center; $40,000 for a new van for the Rota Medical Referral patients on Saipan; $100,000 to the Rota Gaming Casino Commission; $100,000 for the Rota Municipal Scholarship Foundation; $10,000 for the Rota Municipal Council, for equal distribution among the councilmen; and $85,000 for Rota Mayor’s Office operations.

Manglona said that the $100,000 allocated to the Rota Gaming Casino Commission could be used to fund the emergency needs identified by the Rota mayor. “There are several projects on Rota that needs funding, such as [the procurement] of tractors for farmers and the 20% [Federal Emergency Management Agency] matching for Typhoon Mangkhut, to name a few,” Manglona added.

He said the money can also be used to pay vendors the Rota public schools owe for school operations.

“Although we haven’t been able to hold a delegation session for a while now, this is a matter that should be ironed out in the delegation,” he said. “I hope that this will be the last time we act on a measure that involves local matters which should be done in the respective delegations. The Rota mayor and our people did not have a say in the funds we spent and, by acting on this measure, we are setting a precedent that local matters may be acted on in legislations like this.”

The House ultimately unanimously accepted the Senate changes to the legislation. It now heads to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres for enactment.