Rota senator urges Torres to veto appropriation bill

A Rota senator asked Gov. Ralph DLG Torres last week to veto an appropriation bill that left the three Rota senators unhappy over the exclusion of Rota from the funding measure.

In a letter to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres dated April 19, 2018, Sen. Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota) appeals to the governor to veto H.B. 20-102, HD1, SS1, CCS1, citing several concerns, including his belief that Rota was “unfairly excluded” from the bill.

The measure appropriates $13 million to the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation and the Tinian and Aguiguan Legislative Delegation.

The Senate accepted the conference committee substitute of H.B. 20-102 in a session last week with a vote of 5-2. Manglona stormed out of the session prior to voting, while Sen. Jude U. Hofschneider (R-Tinian) was absent. Sens. Steve Mesngon (R-Rota) and Teresita Santos (R-Rota) both rejected the conference committee substitute bill.

H.B. 20-102 repeals 4 CMC § 1508 (a) and (b)—measures that mandate Finance to set aside certain percentages of poker machine revenues and annual license renewal fees in a trust account in the general fund known as the Human Resources Development Trust Fund and the Retirement Fund.

A previous governor’s communication had recommended the repeal of the measure, citing the fact that it has been suspended continuously for over a decade.

The findings section of H.B. 20-102 now state:

“The Legislature finds that [Torres] has identified in this improving economy the much needed resources for those specific entities and found no more need to suspend such funds.”

However, according to Manglona’s letter, the funds freed up by repealing the measure belong to the general fund.

“As such, it should not be diverted to the respective legislative delegation for eventual re-distribution as if they were derived from local funds,” he said. H.B. 20-102 also included language to reimburse both the Saipan and Tinian delegations for funds previously accumulated due to Public Law 7-31, which was a Commonwealth expenditure.

P.L. 7-31 raised the base salary of government employees back in the early 1990s without first identifying if the government had adequate funding resources, pushing both delegations to pay for the government obligation. H.B. 20-102 reimburses both delegations for the balances.

“This re-appropriation measure to refund local appropriation expenditure, especially one that was made many years ago is very questionable. This is tantamount to borrowing money for government operations expenditure other than for Capital Improvement Projects, which is prohibited by Article X, Section 4 of the Commonwealth Constitution,” Manglona said, reiterating that P.L. 7-31 is a Commonwealth obligation.

Rota was not given a single penny

Manglona emphasized in his letter that this was the first time Rota was excluded from an appropriation measure.

“Rota was unfairly excluded and not given a single penny in the appropriation measure,” he said.

The bicameral conference committee agreed to omit a provision that provides the Rota Legislative Delegation with $500,000. According to Manglona, the money would be used for marketing and tourism related purposes pertaining to Rota.

The House conferees were led by chair Rep. Joseph Deleon Guerrero (R-Saipan) with Rep. John Paul Sablan (R-Saipan) and author Rep. Blas Jonathan “BJ” Attao (Ind-Saipan). The Senate conferees were led by Sen. Justo Quitugua (Ind-Saipan) with Sens. Jude U. Hofschneider (R-Tinian) and Steve Mesngon (R-Rota) as members.

“The amount of $500,000, out of the total $13 million, is all that we were requesting for a Tourism Enhancement Program. This would have gone a long way in augmenting Marianas Visitors Authority’s marketing efforts to promote Rota as a tourist destination,” he said, adding that Rota, despite being small, has “so much history and beauty to offer.”

Manglona added that since Star Marianas Airlines no longer offers their Guam-Rota flights, paired with the recent news of United Airlines severing ties with Cape Air, affecting Guam-Rota and Saipan-Rota flights, Rota now more than ever “needs a boost.”

“With financial support, the tourism enhancement program may be able to explore new ways to promote Rota and bring visitors to the island,” he said.

In a previous interview with Saipan Tribune, House conferee Sablan said appropriating the Rota delegation with $500,000 was not in line with the intent of H.B. 20-102, which was to reimburse the Saipan and Tinian delegations retroactively for previous balances accumulated from P.L. 7-31.

The House in today’s 9:30am session would either accept or reject the conference committee substitute bill. The Senate in their April 12, 2018, session accepted the substitute.