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Draft of Saipan casino bill finalized
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Posted on Jul 28 2011
A draft of the much ballyhooed Saipan casino bill calls for a $25 million casino license fee for prospective investors and a $575 million exclusive fee that would be deposited in a separate sub-account for appropriation by the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation.
A copy of the draft provided to the Saipan Tribune yesterday also said that the CNMI governor will have no reprogramming authority on the funds “absent a formal declaration of emergency or an express constitutional assertion of executive programming powers.”
Casino operations have been thumbed down twice by island voters and the Senate has even vowed to go to court and sue the delegation for introducing the measure.
The draft copy of House Local Bill 17-44 CS1, however, justifies the introduction of the Saipan casino bill by stating that: “The act is legally consistent with Article 21 of the CNMI Constitution that provides that, ‘[g]ambling is prohibited in the Northern Mariana Islands except as provided by Commonwealth law or established through initiative in the Commonwealth or in any senatorial district.”
The draft bill added that “the subsequent development of the casino industry will provide many employment opportunities for Saipan residents both in the private sector gaming facilities and within the Saipan-Northern Islands Casino Commission as non-Civil Services government employees,”
More importantly, the draft of the Saipan casino bill appropriates 100 percent of the taxes, fees, penalties, and fines to the Saipan and Northern Islands with SNILD serving as the appropriating body.
The appropriation will be broken down as follows:
-10 percent for medical referrals for all eligible CNMI residents;
-10 percent for SHEFA scholarships;
-10 percent for Commonwealth Utilties Corp. assistance for CNMI eligible low income persons;
-10 percent to be appointed at the discretion of the Third Senatorial District Delegation;
-10 percent for the funding of cultural and language preservation programs; and
-40 percent for the NMI Retirement Fund’s Defined Benefit Plan until fully funded.
The Saipan casino bill is authored by Rep. Stanley T. Torres (Ind-Saipan) and has six co-sponsors.
