House committee pushes for passage of several measures

The House Committee on Ways and Means, chaired by Rep. Angel A. Demapan (R-Saipan), recommended Monday the passage of four bills, all related to the CNMI’s finances.

The committee wants the entire chamber to pass House bills 20-2, 20-10, 20-42, and 20-75 at the next House session. House Speaker Rafael S. Demapan (R-Saipan) has yet to schedule one.

HB 20-2 is the Areca Nut Excise Tax Act of 2017. Its author, Rep. Blas Jonathan T. Attao (Ind-Saipan), hopes to increase the excise tax collected by the CNMI when importing betel nut also called areca nut.

Attao’s bill seeks to impose a tax of $3 per lb of areca nut.

He cited recent studies, reports, and presentations that showed that consumption of betel nut poses health risks. It was also revealed that betel nut is addictive and is “consumed in many parts of the world by people of all age groups.”

He cited research by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the World Health Organization of the Western Pacific Region, and a similar study by Dr. Yvette C. Paulino, which confirmed that betel nut chewing—with or without tobacco—could cause oral cancer.

Paulino is an assistant professor of Health Sciences at the University of Guam and she presented her research on the risks of betel nut chewing during the Oral Cancer Health Forum on Saipan in 2015.

“The intent of this act is to increase the excise tax on the importation of areca nut [betel nut] into the CNMI,” said Attao.

HB 20-10, introduced by Ways and Means chair Demapan, aims to establish the Settlement Fund Revolving Fund Account. The bill aims to have a specified amount from the business gross revenue tax deposited into a special fund that would ensure and protect the CNMI retirees’ future payments.

The bill would establish the Settlement Fund Revolving Fund Account under the CNMI Treasury, which would be separate from the general fund. Money deposited on this account will be exclusively for the payment of the minimum annual expense intended for the Final Amended Stipulation and Settlement Agreement in the CNMI District Court Case 1:09-cv-00023.

The CNMI has agreed to make minimum annual payments to the Settlement Fund amounting to 75 percent of class members’ full benefits.

BGRT revenues shall be deposited each fiscal year to the settlement fund. The amount is as follows: $45 million (2018), $44 million (2019), $43 million (2020), $42 million (2021), $41 million (2022), $40 million (2023), and $39 million (2024).

The third bill, HB 20-42, hopes to amend the existing tax law to impose a tax on artists registered with the Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture and create tax brackets for people engaged in agriculture and fishing based on annual gross revenue. Rep. Angel Demapan introduced the measure.

There would be no tax for those earning under $20,000 and a tax of 1 percent of total gross revenues for those earning over $20,000.

Demapan wants to include artists registered with CCAC, saying these artists are are self-sufficient and help promote the CNMI’s cultures and traditions.

HB 20-75, another Demapan bill, aims to establish a separate Drug Court Revolving Fund and authorize the Commonwealth Superior Court’s Drug Court to impose fees on Drug Court participants.

The Drug Court Revolving Fund, once established, will be within the Department of Finance. It will be separate from the general fund and is non-lapsing and the chief justice would be its expenditure authority.

The Drug Court will also be authorized to impose assessment fees on participants at their discretion at anytime, the amount must also be in accordance with the Judiciary rule-making authority and published in their fee schedule, and the amount collected would be deposited to the Drug Court Revolving Fund.