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Rota municipal councils lobbying against casino bill
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Posted on Apr 15 2008
Tension is brewing among Rota officials over who should have the power to appropriate the earnings of the island’s future casino industry.
The Rota Municipal Council is lobbying the governor to veto a House bill that would allow the Rota Legislative Delegation to appropriate casino gaming revenues.
The council says it was expressly given that authority by the Rota Casino Act, which was overwhelmingly passed by the voters in November 2007.
“Needless to say, House Bill 16-1, HD1, is constitutionally flawed, infirm, unreasonable, and unfair,” the council told the governor in a letter.
The council added that the Rota Legislative Delegation is only allowed to make “technical amendments” to the constitutional provision. The body maintained that the proposed change to the casino act will affect the substance of the legislation.
The council is made up of chairman Roy James Masga, vice chairman Alfred M. Apatang, and secretary Vicente M. Calvo.
Under the Rota casino law, there will be no restrictions on the total number of casino licenses that may be issued, or the number of casinos that a person or a group may own or operate on Rota.
The license application fee may cost up to $100,000 and an annual license fee may not exceed $200,000 for the first license year.
A Rota gaming tax equivalent to 5 percent of the gross gaming revenue will also be collected from casino operators.
A total of 1,095 voters approved casino gambling on Rota, and 187 voted against it. The number of “yes” votes represents 70 percent of the 1,564 registered voters, and 85 percent of the voter turnout on Rota. The initiative needed only two-thirds of the registered voters to pass.
