GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios on Tuesday signed into law House Local Bill 23-29, which appropriates $507,750 in casino license and other fees paid by Bridge Investment Group and its partners to the Tinian municipal treasury.
Authored by Rep. Patrick H. San Nicolas, the local appropriation measure is now Tinian Local Law 23-5.
The governor, however, line-item vetoed the provision to allocate $20,000 of the funds for the Tinian & Aguigan Legislative Delegation, saying it is “constitutionally problematic.” He cited Article II, Section 16 of the CNMI Constitution which states that each delegation is a component unit of the Commonwealth Legislature and may not incur expenditures beyond what is established every year in the annual appropriations for the Legislature.
Under Public Law 23-9 or the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Act, the Legislature’s funding ceiling is over $6.7 million.
The governor said, “notwithstanding the approved budget for the Legislature, legislative delegations continue to circumvent the legal budget process to fund additional operational expenditures already funded under the annual appropriation acts for each fiscal year.”
The new local law also allots the following:
1) $447,750 for the Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission —$411,750 for personnel and $36,000 for operations;
2) $30,000 for the Tinian Mayor’s Office; and,
3) $10,000 for the Tinian Municipal Council.
Last month, Tinian Municipal Treasurer Maria Barbara Borja informed the Tinian delegation that her office received $500,000 in casino license fee from Bridge Investment Group; a total of $2,000 in casino service industry fee from United States Playing Card Co., Matsui Asia, Ltd. and Clear Management Group, Ltd.; $5,000 in casino key employee license fee; and $750 in casino employee license fee.”
She said these funds were available for appropriation.
Due to challenges in hiring employees, Bridge Investment Group has yet to operate the Tinian Diamond Casino, which was constructed a couple of years ago under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.
Arnold Palacios
