Bills on $15 tourism fee, DPW foreign worker hiring are now laws

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial signed into law on Friday two bills, including a measure expanding the incentives program to travel agencies bringing in more tourists to the CNMI and also charges passengers from non-U.S. destinations a new $15 travel promotion fee.

The governor also signed into law a bill that would allow the Department of Public Works’ Technical Services Division to continue to hire qualified foreign engineers at least until 2015.

Fitial’s newly signed Public Law 17-58 amends P.L. 17-29 to extend the application of the Tourism Incentive Program to other Southeast Asian markets, and establish a customs quarantine tourism revolving fund.

House floor leader George Camacho (Ind-Saipan), author of the bill that became PL 17-58, said the government “still has to promulgate rules to implement the tourism program and I hope that’s done soon so we can start realizing the benefits of the incentive plan.”

The new law expands the target market for the tour agent monetary incentive program originally intended only for those bringing in tourists from Japan. But when the March 11 quake and tsunami hit Japan, the administration-sponsored bill expanded the target market to cover other countries, including South Korea, Russia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China.

The new law also imposes a $15 customs and quarantine fee to be assessed against the carrier of every arriving passenger whose original point of embarkation is a non-U.S. country.

This $15 fee will be used to recover costs incurred for enforcement of customs and quarantine laws, and to promote travel to the CNMI.

The fee will be collected by carriers, and remitted or paid to the CNMI government on or before the 15th day of each month.

Foreign worker hiring

Fitial also signed HB 17-202 into Public Law 17-59, exempting DPW’s Technical Services Division from the foreign worker hiring prohibition until 2015.

DPW’s TSD is having difficulties finding resident engineers to fill needed positions.

House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan) authored the bill.

Fitial, in his message to Cabrera and Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota), said although the bill does not address hiring standards, he signed it into law in order to deal with critical and ongoing projects.