Legislators raise poker fees by 33%

Saipan lawmakers yesterday voted to increase by 33 percent to $8,000 the license fees for poker and pachinko slot machines on the island in a move to boost government revenues amid worsening economic crisis.

In a session, most members of the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation passed the local bill seeking additional $2,000 on top of the current fee of $6,000. Only Representatives Karl T. Reyes and Manuel A. Tenorio voted against it.

At least $1.5 million will be generated from the proposed fee hike — aside from some $6 million that the cash-strapped government earlier has anticipated to earn from these amusement machines. The measure now heads to Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio for signing.

Rep. Heinz Hofschneider, SNILD chair, said the governor will have the authority to spend the additional cash resources which is expected to come in by January once Tenorio signs the bill.

“He prefers to use the money as matching requirement for CIP (capital improvement project) funds or to supplement the shortfall in the budget of critical agencies,” he told reporters after the session.

The Tenorio administration is facing continuous decline in its fiscal budget because of the year-long economic upheaval gripping Asia that has pulled down the number of visitors on the island and forcing closure of more than 1,000 businesses in recent months.

Furthermore, spending level for 1999 went down by $32.5 million to $216.75 million last month which is expected to reduce appropriations to education, health and public safety as well as other government departments and agencies by at least 15 percent.

Hofschneider had proposed the bill following passage into law last July of a legislation that removed the cap on the number of poker and pachinko slot machines on Saipan as part of revenue-generating measures of the government.

The representative said the number of licenses has swelled to 722 from 244 in four months after the lifting of the cap. “Raising the fees by $2,000 is not deterrent for people to operate these machines,” Hofschneider added.

In voting against the raise, Rep. Tenorio had urged the delegation to spare pachinko slot from the additional local excise tax to give the sector a “fair treatment” in view of what he considered dwindling profits.

But Hofschneider argued that it does not deserve a different treatment as poker machines. “It is making money and it’s a form of gambling. Why would pachinko be different from poker machines,” he asked during the session.

Meanwhile, SNILD deferred action on a resolution that will allocate close to $1.9 million from proceeds of the license fees to the operations and payroll of the Office of the Saipan Mayor due to budget shortfall.

“Critical programs are facing budgetary cuts. This is the time to look at our priorities because of the financial situation of the government,” House Speaker Diego T. Benavente told the session.