Finance Secretary Larrisa Larson took the witness stand in Superior Court last Friday after attorney Ramon K. Quichocho summoned her in connection with his request for preliminary injunction in his lawsuit against the 2-month-old casino law.<\/p>\n
Associate Judge David A. Wiseman later placed Quichocho\u2019s motion under advisement.<\/p>\n
Larson pointed out that she could not answer many of the questions Quichocho raised because she is not a lawyer and that she did not draft the government\u2019s opposition to his motion.<\/p>\n
Assistant attorneys general David Lochabay and Reena Patel, counsels for the CNMI government and Gov. Eloy S. Inos respectively, objected to many of the questions Quichocho aske Larson, describing them as irrelevant and immaterial. Assistant attorney general Teresita Sablan also appeared for Inos.<\/p>\n
Larson said the $2-million non-refundable application fees by two casino license applicants have been placed under the Lottery Commission and held in an account under Finance\u2019s custody. She said the money is still in the account and that no other payment by the applicants has been made.<\/p>\n
In an interview after the hearing, Larson said one of the biggest obligations facing the government and impacting its ability to move forward and increase agencies\u2019 budget is the Retirement Fund payment under the Betty Johnson\u2019s class action settlement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year we have to pay $25 million and that\u2019s still something that we\u2019re working on. We\u2019ve been current with our payment, but it is a struggle to have to come up with that figure,\u201d Larson said.<\/p>\n
With each year that passes, the government has to worry about where it is going to come up with more and more money, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019re cutting our operational costs,\u201d Larson said. \u201cBut we have to do it because of this obligation. And with each and every year as the obligation gets bigger, the impact on us is gonna get even more significant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Larson underscored the importance of having serious investments come in such as the casino.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever it might be, we need revenue,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The administration, Larson said, is doing its best not to touch the personnel. \u201cBut should something like this happen, when we don\u2019t get revenue, we might have to get to that point because of the amount we have to pay the Retirement Fund.\u201d<\/p>\n
Delays like the temporary restraining order that Quichocho is seeking would only hurt that effort to bring in more revenue. The government, she pointed out, needs this kind of cash infusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just don\u2019t need a few dollars here and a few dollars there. We need massive amount of money to make it through the next couple of years,\u201d Larson said.<\/p>\n
She disclosed that for this year alone, the government has to pay $25 million; $27 million for the next year; and $30 million for the following year. Larson said it\u2019s very difficult for the government to make these payments.<\/p>\n
Larson said they had difficulty in paying the initial $25 million. Since the amount gets higher, it\u2019s a great concern.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach year we have to find resources,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Aside from the Johnson obligation, Larson said the government has numerous other obligations and that CUC billings is one of those.<\/p>\n
In an interview after the hearing, Quichocho said the Commonwealth Casino Commission is the sole authority to expend the $2 million application fees.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now you have the Lottery Commission taking that role and entering into contracts expending that money not pursuant to the statute, in violation of the statute,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In his argument, Quichocho said his lawsuit showed a strong likelihood of success because two specific provisions of the casino law have been violated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government is running out of control of expending illegally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Quichocho said the court should send a strong message to the public that laws should be followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly if you are the Casino Commission, then you can spend that money,\u201d said Quichocho, referring to the $2 million casino application.<\/p>\n
The lawyer said the Lottery Commission has illegally expended public funds, collected pursuant to the casino law, to hire a casino investigator and a gaming consultant.<\/p>\n
Quichocho said the court\u2019s heart and mind should not be moved by the parade of fiscal ruins that was painted by the government\u2019s lawyers in the event that defendants are stopped from illegally expending public funds collected pursuant to the casino law.<\/p>\n
In the defendants\u2019 arguments, Patel said that Quichocho has not met his burden for a preliminary injunction based on the evidence submitted.<\/p>\n
Patel also pointed out that $50 million will be generated by the government in the casino\u2019s first year of operation.<\/p>\n
She said the government is in dire need of revenue. Delaying the process designed to create new revenue is in and of itself harmful to the public interest, Patel said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime is of the essence,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Patel said the government needs new revenue to pay land compensation judgments, provide essential public services, and to meets is obligation to retirees.<\/p>\n
Quichocho filed the lawsuit for himself and on behalf of the CNMI taxpayers.<\/p>\n
The lawyer is suing Inos and co-defendants for alleged violation of the NMI Constitution, illegal expenditure of public funds, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of trust.<\/p>\n
Quichocho asked the court to issue a judgment declaring the casino law and any expenditure of public funds under that law as unconstitutional and unlawful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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