THE Commonwealth Casino Commission is asking Gov. Ralph DLG Torres to provide financial assistance from the $515 million in American Rescue Plan Act or ARPA funds that the CNMI stands to receive from the federal government.
In a joint letter to the governor on March 30, the casino commissioners noted the financial challenges the commission is going through.
The commission is supposed to be funded by the annual $3 million regulatory fee that the lone casino licensee, Imperial Pacific International, can no longer afford to pay. IPI, which is facing several lawsuits in federal and local courts, shut down in March 2020 amid the global Covid-19 pandemic.
In the governor’s fiscal year 2022 budget submission, the casino commission was allotted $1 in local funds and $1,089 in ARPA funds.
In his report last week, casino commission acting executive director Vincent Babauta said the commission is seeking $3.19 million in ARPA funds for personnel and operations.
Babauta said the commission “remains hopeful that its request will be considered in the second round of submission for the governor’s ARPA expenditure plan to the Legislature and the federal government.”
But he also said that the commission has yet to receive a copy of the expenditure plan, so it will continue to “monitor and explore other funding options that the commission can avail itself of.”
