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House may rescind wharfage bill vote
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Posted on Mar 20 2005
The House leadership has put on hold the transmittal of the wharfage waiver bill to the Senate following objections from the Commonwealth Ports Authority about its enactment.
“The House may rescind it. There may be a mechanism whereby that can be addressed within the House even after it is passed. That’s what we are looking into,” said House leadership spokesman Charles Reyes Jr. Friday.
On Wednesday, the House voted unanimously House Bill 14-309, which aims to waive the wharfage fee imposed by CPA on cargoes shipped from Saipan to Tinian and Rota.
In a statement on Thursday, CPA warned that it would adversely impact the financial standing of CPA.
In particular, CPA said that it could result in personnel layoff and significantly hamper port operations.
In a letter to Senate president Joaquin G. Adriano, CPA executive director Carlos Salas said the ports authority relies substantially on income from wharfage charges.
Further, Salas said that waiving wharfage fees could put at risk the revenue bonds covering improvements at the seaports.
He said that under the bond indenture, CPA is obligated to inform the bondholders of any changes in CPA revenues resulting from an act of the CNMI government.
A breach of the indenture, he said, would result in the CNMI having to pay $28 million.
“The CPA raised issues and concerns particularly with respect to the bonding issue and financial status. It affects not only the CPA, but the entire CNMI government. So we’re going to reconsider that and evaluate arguments before we sent it to the senate,” said Reyes.
He said the committee may not have done its entire due diligence on that issue.
The bill, authored by Tinian Rep. Norman S. Palacios, went through the House Committee on House and Ways, which is chaired by Palacios.
Meantime, CPA said that wharfage fees comprised 53 percent ($60,000) of the Rota seaport’s total revenues in fiscal year 2004.
Likewise, wharfage charges made up 50 percent or $91,804 of the Tinian seaport’s total revenue collection in FY 2004.
