A House of Representatives measure seeking to appropriate over $24 million from the casino-licensee gross revenue tax was amended at the Ways and Means Committee, effectively reducing the allocation for the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.<\/p>\n
Last Dec. 13, 2017, Rep. Angel A. Demapan (R-Saipan), committee chair and author of House Bill 20-147, introduced a bill that would appropriate $24 million from the CGRT to various government agencies and obligations, including the Public School System, the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., and numerous land compensation debts of the CNMI government.<\/p>\n
In a Ways and Means Committee meeting last Dec. 18, 2017, Rep. John Paul Sablan (R-Saipan) proposed to amend the measure by reducing the amount allocated to CHCC by $500,000 and appropriating it toward the land compensation debt.<\/p>\n
CHCC was initially to be appropriated $3.25 million while $1 million was to be appropriated for land compensation judgments against the Commonwealth government. After the committee unanimously accepted the amendments, CHCC would be appropriated $2.75 million while $1.5 million is for land compensation judgments.<\/p>\n
According to Sablan, who chairs the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, the SNILD Ways and Means Committee proposed an appropriation of $2.3 million for CHCC.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that we could get the $500,000 from [CHCC]. I ask for your indulgence to move the remaining balance toward [land compensation judgments],\u201d he said before offering the amendment. The $500,000 goes toward the Manglona v CNMI judgment, which, according to cair Demapan, costs the NMI government $693 a day in interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn an effort to lessen the financial impact, the additional $500,000 would bring that particular judgment down by $1 million,\u201d he said. A total of $1 million goes to the Manglona v CNMI judgment. \u201cWe still owe another $4 million to that particular judgment after this. We hope to take care of that at the next round of supplemental revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some $1.7 million was initially appropriated toward Rota and Tinian\u2019s telecommunications infrastructure, but floor leader Rep. Glenn Maratita (R-Rota) proposed an amendment to direct the funding toward land compensation debts on Rota and the West San Jose Homestead Water Project on Tinian. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey felt that those two are more pressing [matters] than the telecommunication infrastructure. They would like to pursue other funding opportunities in the future to accommodate the telecommunication infrastructure,\u201d said Demapan.<\/p>\n
H.B. 20-147, HS1 passed the committee and now heads to the House for review as a whole.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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