Crunch time to ‘fix’ more casino law flaws

Rep. Ray Tebuteb (Ind-Saipan) and other lawmakers lamented yesterday the lack of a joint leadership meeting between Gov. Eloy S. Inos, the House of Representatives, and the Senate for months now, even as lawsuits have already been filed over the casino law, more legislative “fixes” are offered to address its flaws, and elected leaders going in different directions.

“If this government claims that this is an urgent, time sensitive matter, we need to put away the golf clubs and work 24/7 on this. We’ve never had a joint leadership meeting in a long time to address the issues as one government,” Tebuteb told Saipan Tribune.

House floor leader Ralph Demapan’s (Cov-Saipan) House Bill 18-195 seeks to clear further ambiguities in the casino law.

Rep. Trenton Conner’s (Ind-Tinian) HB 18-196 seeks to apply the Open Government Act to the CNMI Legislature.

Rep. Edmund Villagomez’s (Cov-Saipan) House Resolution 18-59, meanwhile, amends the House rule to exceed the present notice requirements of the Open Government Act by mandating 72-hour advance notice for all legislative proceedings of non-emergency nature. Right now, the House rules provides a 24-hour advance notice.

Most of the nearly 200 bills passed by the 18th House complied with the 24-hour advance notice rule, including House Bill 18-179—the bill that became the casino law.

These three measures will be formally introduced in this afternoon’s House session.

Private citizen Glen Hunter, one of two individuals who sued government officials over the Saipan casino law, said what is occurring in the CNMI today is a “tragedy.”

“The good people of the CNMI have three times entered the polls to publicly declare that casino gambling on Saipan be constitutionally prohibited. More than 7,000 voters in 2009 also demanded that the Open Government Act be made to apply to the Legislature. What we are witnessing today, just months before a general election, are a handful of elected public servants telling the good people of the CNMI that their votes do not concern them and that their demand for transparency in government will not be heeded,” he said.

He said he personally doesn’t believe a new bill or resolution is needed to ensure that the OGA apply fully to the Legislature.

“Its application today is clear, legal and sound,” he added.

Demapan’s HB 18-195 repeals and reenacts in its entirety the casino statute, Public Law 18-38, as amended by PL 18-43, to clarify ambiguities and ratify the Lottery Commission’s good faith actions including executing contracts and fund expenditures in reviewing two applications for an exclusive casino license.

“But I have not made up my mind yet whether I would ask my colleagues to place it on calendar for action after I introduce the bill but it can be placed on calendar,” Demapan said in an interview yesterday.

His 41-page bill also makes the legislation’s application retroactive to the effective date of PL 18-38, which is March 21, 2014.

“The actions or decisions of the Lottery Commission, whether it’s June 19 or later will be based on the results of the consultants’ investigation,” he said.

Demapan said “time is running out” as “people need help now, not later.” He reiterated that the law is “not just about casino, but tourism in general and employment opportunities.”

“I hope that people who go out and oppose casino without offering alternatives would not politicize the issue. Let’s give the casino a chance, allow this legislation to go through. As to the lawsuits, we respect the court to make the decision. My bill is to clarify ambiguities,” he said, adding that some individuals used to support casino but once they announced their candidacy in the November elections, “changed their position.”

Tebuteb, meanwhile, posed a question related to Demapan’s HB 18-195.

“If we don’t pass this bill, does that mean that the Lottery Commission will not approve any applicant? Does the Lottery Commission need this bill to make a decision? What difference does it make if we pass or not this bill?” Tebuteb asked.

He said in his view, the bill not only clarifies ambiguities “but also eliminates the referendum on casino and prevents the lawsuits [of] Ray Quichocho and Glen Hunter.”

House members that are part of the leadership are now going in different directions not only because of the casino issue but also because of different gubernatorial candidates they are supporting.

The Lottery Commission is now reviewing the applications of Best Sunshine International Ltd. and Marianas Stars Entertainment Inc. They are vying for a license to exclusively develop a minimum $2-billion integrated casino resort on Saipan.

Tebuteb also said another reason for Demapan’s bill could be the governor’s June 30 State of the Commonwealth Address.

“It could be to memorialize the release of checks during SOCA,” he said.

House Speaker Joseph Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan) prefiled yesterday House Joint Resolution 18-17 to call for a joint session of the Legislature to receive the governor’s SOCA at 10am on June 30 at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe.

Tebuteb also said on the issue of whether or not two casino licenses instead of one should be allowed, “the application process is already ongoing” and changing the rules would draw more lawsuits and concerns.

For a two-license approach to happen, even the two applicants would have to agree to this, he said.

But in his personal view, he would rather have between two and three casino licenses on Saipan. He reiterated, however, that the exclusive casino license process has already started.

The governor himself said the law allows for an exclusive license and the CNMI will have to start all over again if allowing two licenses were to happen. This includes throwing out the applications of Best Sunshine and Marianas Stars.

More on OGA

Hunter, meanwhile, thanked “the few public officials that have come out admonishing their colleagues for violating the OGA” and hopes that their voice could be heard “loud and clear so that the voters know where they stand.”

“I applaud any effort by elected officials to make the workings of government more transparent and open. President Madison has said, ‘A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps, both,’” he added.

He said the founders of the Commonwealth felt so strongly that the Legislature should operate publicly that it is enshrined in the CNMI Constitution, particularly “Article II Section 14(c) c) The meetings of the legislature and its committees shall be public.”

“Our Open Government Act’s application to the Legislature simply provides the enforcement of that constitutional provision. How or why the legal counsels for the House and the Senate, and the AGO would argue now five years later that the OGA does not apply to the Legislature is beyond me,” Hunter added.

He said one simply has to read the 18th House Rule III Section 4 to see that they have already acknowledged the OGA and its application to them in, particularly “Section 4. Public Sessions. Sessions of the House and joint sessions of the House and Senate shall be open to the public, […] in accordance with The Open Government Act[…]”

‘Let voters decide’

Rather than continue to violate laws, mount publicity campaigns or continue to operate in secrecy, Hunter said a quick remedy can be made to correct the many wrongs created by the “rushed special interest legislation.”

“I humbly ask the Legislature to repeal the Casino Act in its entirety and simply replace it with a legislative initiative to go on this November’s ballot that simply asks all the voters if they would like to legalize casino gambling [on] Saipan,” he said.

This, Hunter said, would remedy both the violation of the OGA in the passage of the casino act and the violation of the amendment to the constitutional ban on casino gaming on Saipan.

“This simple process would halt all current legal actions and allow the good people of the CNMI the power to determine if the constitutional ban on casino gaming in Saipan should be lifted or retained,” he added.

The $30 million in advance license fees that the two casino applicants deposited in escrow has been set aside to restore CNMI retirees’ deferred 25 percent pension since last year.