Senate hires lawyer to file brief on local casino bill

The Senate has hired attorney Sean Frink for the potential filing of an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief related to a certified question whether or not a local law such as a casino legislation enacted by the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation is considered a Commonwealth law.

Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota) said yesterday that the Senate believes that the Saipan delegation is not authorized to enact a local law establishing casino gaming on Saipan.

He said that as the lone Senate legal is already overwhelmed with work, they asked the Legislative Bureau to hire an outside counsel for the local casino bill issue.

The Senate, through its attorney, already notified both Reps. Joseph Palacios (R-Saipan) and Ray Yumul (R-Saipan) of the Senate’s intent to file a brief of amicus curiae in support of Yumul’s principal brief.

Palacios, in an interview with reporters, said the issue now is about the power of the Saipan delegation, and not merely the casino bill itself.

“I believe that the Senate was hoping that with the governor’s veto of a local bill legalizing casino gambling on Saipan, it would become a dead issue. But it’s not. I submitted a certified question, along with Rep. Yumul. I had asked the governor if he wanted to be a party, he said ‘no.’ Now the Senate wants to join, supporting Yumul’s position,” Palacios said.

Palacios and Yumul filed the certified question with the Supreme Court without a lawyer.

The Senate, Palacios said, intends to file an amicus brief with the help of a lawyer.

Yumul said a local law establishing casino gaming on Saipan, enacted by a delegation or the Legislature, is unconstitutional and not Commonwealth law because (1) such local law contains a subject matter that is not a local matter as defined by the NMI Constitution and the Legislature; (2) such local law conflicts with Public Law 3-70; and (3) such local law conflicts with Article 21 of the NMI Constitution.

The Senate rejected in 2010 a House bill legalizing casino gaming on Saipan. After that, the House leadership introduced a local bill legalizing casino gaming on Saipan and that bill passed the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, however, vetoed the local bill, saying it’s unconstitutional.

Palacios and Yumul said Public Law 3-77 states that in case the governor vetoes a local bill, the Legislature may override the governor’s veto by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of each house of the Legislature.

But they said if House Local Bill 17-44, or the local Saipan casino bill was overridden by both houses of the Legislature, the enacted law still remains a local law, and the status of the local law in this case remains subject to the issue: “Is a local law a Commonwealth law and what about this relationship to Article 21 of the NMI Constitution?”

After the Senate killed a House Saipan casino bill in 2010, the House leadership introduced another House bill legalizing casinos on Saipan and this passed the House once again. But the Senate killed it again in March this year.

Senate floor leader Pete Reyes (R-Saipan), now a strong supporter of a Saipan casino bill, said yesterday he didn’t know anything about the Senate’s hiring of a lawyer for the casino issue.