House Bill 16-237 states that while many produce can be grown and harvested locally, the CNMI still import most of them.
“Our local farmers and fishermen are in constant competition with imported goods,” the bill stated. “Businesses must be encouraged to purchase locally grown goods…to promote and assist our local farmers and fishermen.”
According to the bill, there are “other benefits to purchasing locally grown produce. Food that is fresher tastes better and locally grown food obviously does not cause as much pollution due to less travel time. Buying local also [allow] family farms [to] thrive, [it] preserves the rural landscape and local spending keeps our community thriving.”
Hence, the bill proposes to offer tax breaks to hotels, restaurants and other businesses that buy locally grown items.
“Rewards always work better than incentives,” said Palacios, Covenant-Saipan, in an interview on Friday.
Also introduced by Palacios and Torres, R-Saipan, is H.B. 16-238 which will increase the penalty imposed on retailers caught selling tobacco products to minors.
Currently, for first offense, a business establishment will get a warning letter.
The bill wants this changed to a $1,000 fine, a jail term of not more than a year, and not more than 250 hours of community service.
The bill will increase the penalty for the second offense from a maximum fine of $500 to a $2,000 fine, a jail term of not more than two years, and not more than 350 hours of community service.
For the third offense, which currently results in license suspension of up to seven days, the bill proposes up to a year of license suspension, a $5,000 fine and a jail term of not more than five years.
Palacios said he and Torres learned that some stores continue to sell tobacco products to minors.
“We need to send a message to these stores that they will be severely penalized if they continue violating the law,” he said. “We don’t want kids to start smoking. Once you’re a smoker, it’s going to be very hard to quit even though it’s bad for your health and bad for the community that has to pay for public health services.”
