Gov. Eloy S. Inos said yesterday he\u2019s \u201cnot taking any position at this point\u201d whether to sign or veto a controversial Saipan casino bill now before him, even as concerns and questions about the bill\u2019s provisions and the Legislature\u2019s rushed passage grows. Meanwhile, concerned community members are organizing a forum so that anyone supporting and opposing the proposed Saipan casino gaming would be able to ask the governor and lawmakers about the bill\u2019s intents and provisions.
\nIn addition to concerns earlier raised, the governor said he would like to make sure that the bill won\u2019t preempt casinos already operating, including Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino.<\/p>\n
\u201cTinian has a local [casino] initiative. We have to respect that. Rota as well; we have to respect that. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s right that we do a Commonwealth [gaming] law that would pre-empt the operating casino, especially when they are already in existence,\u201d Inos told Saipan Tribune at yesterday\u2019s unveiling of the Kagman Fire Station\u2019s new name.<\/p>\n
This comes days after Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino representative Chan Chun Wai and Tinian Mayor Ramon Dela Cruz separately wrote the governor a letter, asking him to veto the casino bill. They said the bill is \u201cincredibly poorly drafted,\u201d with many key provisions \u201cvery difficult to understand,\u201d and would force Dynasty to shut down.<\/p>\n
The bill\u2019s title itself states that it is to authorize, establish, and regulate \u201can exclusive gaming license within the Commonwealth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other officials and community members are also raising concerns about the bill\u2019s chilling effects on poker machines outside hotels on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, video lottery and electronic gaming. The last two were allowed by law only a few months ago and have yet to get off the ground.<\/p>\n
Inos himself noted yesterday the 15-day deadline, upon the bill\u2019s signing, for any investor to come up with a total of $31 million in nonrefundable application fee and partial casino license fee payment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it reasonable? It might be that this bill would only have 15 days to live on because if nobody comes up with that amount of dollars in 15 days, then the bill is no good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The duration of the exclusive license would also have to be reduced to a maximum of 40 or 55 years, so as not to violate Articles 11 and 12 of the NMI Constitution, depending on whether the 2,000-room hotel will be on a private or public land. The bill allows up to 80-year exclusive casino license.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not taking any position at this point. I\u2019m just saying these are the things that I found to be of concern in the bill. If the bill would be approved, it would have to take into account those concerns,\u201d Inos said.<\/p>\n
The governor also made clear that he would not support a qualifying certificate\u2014a tax abatement program\u2014for casino operation.<\/p>\n
Inos said upon review of the bill, \u201cit appears that this bill is a spinoff of the bill that was previously introduced and shelved in the Senate.\u201d That also provided an exclusive license \u201cbut for a longer period and lower payments.\u201d<\/p>\n
House floor leader Ralph Demapan (Cov-Saipan), main author of the bill, said it\u2019s not his intention to negatively impact or shut down Tinian Dynasty and related businesses, as the same question was posed to legal counsels during the House and Senate sessions.<\/p>\n
He said if the bill\u2019s provision is not clear about this, he would make sure that it would be amended once the bill becomes law.<\/p>\n
The bill\u2019s title says it is to \u201cauthorize, establish and regulate an exclusive gaming license within the Commonwealth.\u201d Others such as Tinian Dynasty and the Tinian mayor take this to mean that Tinian Dynasty may have to shut down the minute the governor signs the casino bill.<\/p>\n
Demapan prefiled the casino legislation or House Bill 18-179 on Feb. 2. The bill was not referred to any committee nor underwent public hearing.<\/p>\n
About a month later, on March 3, the House passed the bill with four sets of amendments. A day later, March 4, the Senate also passed the bill without amendment.<\/p>\n
It was the first time in at least four years that the Senate passed a casino bill from the House. The Senate rejected in one form or another casino bills from the House. Saipan voters also twice rejected a casino question on the ballot; the last time was in 2007.<\/p>\n
Ed Propst, a private citizen, said yesterday that concerned community members are organizing a forum that would allow anyone\u2014either those opposing or supporting the casino bill\u2014to be able to ask questions of House and Senate members, as well as the governor, about the bill.<\/p>\n
Propst said the questions will have to be written and would be read by a moderator. The planned forum would set ground rules. There won\u2019t be slogans or posters advocating or opposing casino on Saipan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would be inviting the governor and members of the Legislature, especially the bill\u2019s author, to sit down with us and answer written questions from the public. Since obviously, there was no public input and no public hearing was done on the bill before it was passed, this would be a good time to ask questions and clarifications whether you support or oppose casinos on Saipan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He clarified that the forum would neither be an anti-casino or pro-casino event.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is only for informational and educational purpose. We could ask questions, and the officials could answer them. I would like to think that lawmakers who support the bill would take advantage of this forum to explain the bill\u2019s intent and its provisions,\u201d he said, adding that the venue for the forum will be announced later.<\/p>\n
The media already reported on many of the bill\u2019s provisions that different sectors of the community are concerned about.<\/p>\n
Propst, however, said that for fairness and transparency, among other things, the government could have issued a request for proposal to get the best possible offer from investors rather than tailoring the bill for a certain investor or investor groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to the process of RFP? It\u2019s like giving a monopoly, a sole-source contract, and it\u2019s no different from the $190-million sole-source power purchase agreement with Saipan Development LLC,\u201d Propst said.<\/p>\n
Tinian Dynasty Hotel\u2019s Chan Chun Wai cited the \u201csweetheart\u201d deal provisions in the bill.<\/p>\n
Propst said that lawmakers who went to Hong Kong to meet with investor groups continue to be secretive about the investors\u2019 identities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are they so secretive about it?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Propst also said \u201cit goes beyond logic\u201d that an investor that is supposed to invest at least $2 billion for the casino and related facilities would only have a few days to develop a business plan after the bill is signed into law.<\/p>\n
Under the bill, only the casino license applicant that paid $1 million and $30 million within 15 days of the bill\u2019s signing shall be entertained and shall submit a business plan no later than 30 days after this bill is signed into law.<\/p>\n
Sens. Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota) and Ray Yumul (Ind-Saipan), among the four senators that voted \u201cno\u201d to the casino bill, also raised concerns about the bill\u2019s provision.<\/p>\n
The Saipan Chamber of Commerce also raised concerns primarily about the bill\u2019s removal of the tax rebate program. But the House made a technical correction to clarify that the bill does not intent to impact the rebate program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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