HOUSE Floor Leader Ralph N. Yumul on Wednesday said Saipan Local Law 22-6, which doubled the electronic gaming license fee amount, went through the “proper legislative process” before it was passed by the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation on June 23, 2021.
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres signed the local bill into law on Aug. 3, 2021.
In an interview, Yumul said that after he pre-filed House Local Bill 22-8, it appeared on the House order of business on April 23, 2021, May 28, 2021 and June 16, 2021.
These eight- to 13-page documents listed the numerous bills, local bills, joint resolutions, resolutions and various communications that the House discussed during its sessions on those dates.
Yumul said the purpose of the order of business is to provide members of the community the opportunity to comment and air their concerns regarding any of the items listed in those documents.
He did not say if copies of the order of business were provided to members of the community.
He said Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang was present in one of those House sessions when the bill was on the agenda.
Yumul said “no one in the community stepped forward to testify” regarding the bill when it was listed in the House order of business.
He said when he introduced the bill, he welcomed everyone “to join me in this endeavor.”
The media learned about the bill’s existence when it was already signed into law by the governor.
For their part, the businesses directly affected by the law said they were not consulted before it was passed.
The delegation neither referred the local bill to a committee for a review nor conducted a public hearing.
On June 23, according to the minutes of the session, Saipan delegation Floor Leader Sheila Babauta motioned to place H.L.B. 22-8 on the day’s bill calendar. The delegation voted unanimously via acclamation to put the local measure on the bill calendar for action.
During discussion, Rep. Tina Sablan asked Yumul “to provide some further clarification as to the intention, and who these new gaming fees really would actually apply to.” She also asked the author to provide additional background for the record.
Sablan likewise asked “for some time to provide further clarification in this bill, which I think may require some research with our counsel to make sure that we have definitions tightened up a bit in the bill before we pass it.”
Yumul said the bill’s intent was similar to Saipan Local Law 11-2 which doubled the $6,000 fee imposed on pachinko and poker machines.
A substitute bill with Sablan’s proposed floor amendment was unanimously adopted before the Saipan delegation unanimously passed the bill.
MP Holdings LLC, which operates Saipan Vegas in Chalan Kiya, and Mariana Entertainment LLC, which operates Club 88 in Garapan, have filed a motion for preliminary injunction against the Department of Finance which enforces the new law.
Last week, Judge Kenneth Govendo heard the arguments from both parties and urged the e-gaming operators and lawmakers to seek a compromise.
He also noted that the measure “was introduced and passed before the affected parties had any idea what was going on — in other words, after it became law and was signed by the governor that’s when they first found out about it.”
The e-gaming operators said they “remain available at any time to meet with [lawmakers] to discuss and find a compromise solution, to keep a viable e-gaming industry and save over 70 local people their jobs.”
Ralph N. Yumul
