$800K land comp payments snagged by constitutional woes

Only about four days remain before a local law’s 60-day deadline to pay a total of $800,000 in Saipan land compensation but the Department of Public Lands is uncertain whether to distribute those payments this week to over 200 landowners because a certified question on the measure’s constitutionality has yet to be submitted to the court. Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation chair Rep. Ray Tebuteb (Ind-Saipan) also said that DPL or the Inos administration has yet to issue a public statement on the status of payments.

“All we know is that DPL came up with a formula for payments of the land compensation based on the local law, so we saw that as a sign that they’re preparing or are already prepared to distribute payments on or before Sept. 19, which is the last day of the 60-day period. Otherwise, DPL should have come out publicly why there won’t be payments this week as required by local law,” Tebuteb told Saipan Tribune Friday.

He said DPL would be in violation of the law if it does not distribute the land compensation payments as the local law requires.

DPL Secretary Pete A. Tenorio referred questions yesterday about land compensation payments to the Office of the Attorney General.

OAG asked the Saipan legislative delegation to join the Inos administration in submitting a certified question to the court whether the local law appropriating $800,000 in Managaha landing fee for land compensation payments is constitutional.

Both parties have to agree to submit a certified question.

Gov. Eloy S. Inos allowed the deadline to act on the local bill to lapse, so the measure became Saipan Local Law 18-19 on July 19 without the governor’s signature.

Under the local law, $800,000 in Managaha landing fees should be paid for Saipan land compensation within 60 days of the local bill becoming law. The same law appropriates $100,000 each to the Northern Marianas Descent Corp. and the NMI Museum of History and Culture, but within 90 days of the measure becoming law.

Under the $800,000 land compensation payment law, at least 223 Saipan landowners will get anywhere from 89 cents to over $190,000 based on DPL’s calculation sent to the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation.

DPL Land Claims Division head Ray Salas said Friday that based on prior discussion with the department secretary, it is “unconstitutional” to use the Managaha landing fee to pay land compensations.

Tebuteb said it’s now a “wait-and-see” situation, “with the clock ticking” for DPL to distribute payments.

The lawmaker said previous laws also appropriated Managaha landing fees for different programs or projects, and there was no question whether they were constitutional or unconstitutional.

A case in point, Tebuteb said, is Public Law 13-16, which makes a one-time appropriation of Managaha landing fees for the Marianas Visitors Authority to revitalize the tourism industry.

That bill was authored by then-House speaker Heinz S. Hofschneider, and was signed into law by then-governor Juan N. Babauta. Both Hofschneider and Babauta are once again gubernatorial candidates, this time in the 2014 general elections, and so is Inos.

Rep. Anthony Benavente (Ind-Saipan), author of the bill that became SLL 18-19, said once DPL distributes the $800,000 land compensation payments, he is considering introducing another local bill appropriating $2 million more in Managaha landing fees also for land compensation payments.

But like Tebuteb, Benavente is waiting for an official communication from DPL whether $800,000 will be paid to Saipan landowners later this week.