Arnold I. Palacios
GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios has approved two House local bills appropriating gambling revenues for Tinian.
House Local Bill 23-34, which appropriates $20,000 of the $507,750 in the casino license fee paid by Bridge Investment Group and its partners last year, is now Tinian Local Law 23-8. This amount was originally proposed by H.L.B. 23-29 for the Tinian & Aguigan Legislative Delegation, but the governor line-item vetoed it, saying it was “constitutionally problematic.”
T.L.L. 23-8, which the governor signed on Feb. 2, 2024, appropriates the $20,000 as follows:
1) $10,000 for the Tinian mayor’s discretionary account.
2) $10,000 for the Tinian Municipal Council’s operations.
The governor also signed H.L.B. 23-35, appropriating $208,000 in poker fees collection as follows:
1) $118,000 for the Tinian mayor’s office operations, professional services and fees, and public programs.
2) $40,000 for the Tinian mayor’s discretionary account.
3) $35,000 for the Tinian Municipal Council.
4) $5,000 for the Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority on Tinian.
5) $10,000 for the Tinian and Aguiguan Legislative Delegation’s operations.
The Department of Finance reviewed and certified the availability of these funds on Nov. 29, 2023.
H.L.B. 23-35 is now T.L.L. 23-7.
