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SHEFA prioritized in new law
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Posted on May 19 2006
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial has signed a local law requiring the Department of Finance to prioritize the disbursement of poker fees to the Saipan Higher Education Financial Assistance.
Saipan Local Law 15-3 mandates the Finance Department to transfer 50 percent of the Saipan poker fees due to the SHEFA in time for the student registration for the Fall and Spring semesters.
The local law set April 15 and August 15 deadlines for the funds disbursement.
S.L.L. 15-3 was enacted to address the often incomplete funding of the scholarship program.
“Due to the quarterly collection [of poker license fees], SHEFA and other appropriation measures could not be funded the total amounts appropriated. As such the Secretary of Finance, at his own discretion, divides the collected fees and partially funds the projects he deems are priority,” states the new legislation.
“The purpose of this act is to mandate that the SHEFA program shall have first priority to the funds collected from the local poker fees for the Third Senatorial District,” it adds.
Another legislation was recently enacted to address delay in the collection of poker license fees.
The Poker Machine License Fees Act of 2006 scrapped the old practice where poker fees were collected quarterly. Instead, it required owners of poker establishments to pay annual license fees up front.
The 1,414 licensed poker machines throughout the Commonwealth should provide $16.38 million in government revenues.
Saipan operators are charged a yearly fee of $12,000 per poker machine. The license rate is $8,000 a year on Tinian and $10,000 on Rota.
Of the respective amounts, $6,000 goes to the general fund while the balance goes to each local government.
