Gov. Benigno R. Fitial signed House Local Bill 17-8, now Rota Local Law 17-2, on May 14.
Rota Independent Rep. Teresita Santos sponsored the bill which was passed on May 11 during the island delegation’s session.
R.L.L. 17-2 increases the annual license fee per poker and pachinko slot machine from $4,000 to $4,500 starting Jan. 1, 2011.
The fee will further go up to $5,000 per machine by Jan. 1, 2012.
According to the bill, the Rota Municipal Scholarship Foundation is in dire need of funding.
Moreover, Rota residents who should have seen a pay increase nearly two decades ago under Public Law 7-31, or the Commonwealth Compensation Adjustment Act of 1991, are also not yet paid.
“The Rota delegation finds that one way to fund the foregoing activities is to increase the annual local license fees for poker and pachinko slot machines which are a major source of revenue for the first senatorial district,” the new law states.
An amendment was made on the annual license fee rule for poker and pachinko slot machines on Rota specifically mandating that “50 percent of both increases shall be reserved for the Rota Municipal Scholarship Foundation and the other 50 percent shall be reserved for the compensation of affected individuals under Public Law 7-31.”
