GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios on Thursday signed a local law re-appropriating $75,000 to the Indigenous Affairs Office and the Carolinian Affairs Office.
Authored by Rep. John Paul Sablan, House Local Bill 23-17, which is now Saipan Local Law 23-5, re-allocates $37,500 each to IAO and CAO.
The funds are from the $15 million exclusive casino license fee that Imperial Pacific International paid the CNMI government in 2018.
S.L.L. 23-5 amends S.L.L. 20-27, which authorized the IAO resident executive to spend $75,000 on a feasibility study and architectural and engineering design for the Indigenous Cultural Center.
According to the new law, the IAO resident executive recently informed the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation that the funds “are no longer needed for its intended purpose” as IAO received federal grant funding for the project.
The Saipan delegation said the $75,000 should be re-appropriated to IAO and CAO to enhance their efforts in preserving cultural identities.
John Paul Sablan
