The Northern Marianas Descent Corp. opposes a Senate proposal to amend Article 11 of the CNMI Constitution that would allow longer lease terms on public lands.<\/p>\n
In a meeting Wednesday night, NMDC members voted not to support extending public land leases beyond the 40-year period provided by the CNMI Constitution.<\/p>\n
A bill that\u2019s now pending in the Legislature, Senate Bill 20-35, proposes to allow extending public land leases by 35 years on top of the current 40-year period allowed by law.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NMDs [Northern Marianas descent] present tonight decided, in all due respect to our esteemed legislators, to keep Article 11 as is, which means 40 years maximum land lease,\u201d said NMDC president John Gonzalez. <\/p>\n
He said this was because NMDs did not want to close the door to other possible investors. The members of the corporation believe that the land-bidding process should proceed, once a public land lease is up, while ensuring a fair and just bidding process. <\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026Nothing in the existing Article 11 public land lease prohibits anyone, any authentic investor, from submitting a competitive proposal to invest in public lands, including existing investors,\u201d said Gonzalez. <\/p>\n
He said this will ensure that individuals of Northern Marianas descent receive the best land lease offers and \u201cNMDs will achieve the best optimum dividend returns.\u201d <\/p>\n
Senate President Arnold Palacios (R-Saipan), who spoke at the meeting, said that his concern is for hotels and businesses that have leased public lands and contributed to the islands\u2019 economy. <\/p>\n
He said these hotels and companies have given much to the economy and extending their leases should be considered for these hotels so they could further develop their assets. <\/p>\n
Rep. Sixto Igisomar (R-Saipan), who supports extending public land leases, wants to see diversity among its investors. He believes that an extension will keep the current diversity among investors, ensuring a healthy economy.<\/p>\n
By extending public land leases, existing investors will be able to come up with a stronger proposal for their properties, ensuring a continuous diversity among investors on the island, Igisomar said.<\/p>\n
According to Gonzalez, the NMDC decided that diversity is still achievable by allowing the current investors to proffer their best proposals. Gonzalez said the NMDC believes that \u201c40 years is a lot of time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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