SENATE President Jude U. Hofschneider on Thursday introduced a bill to permit senatorial districts to establish and regulate municipal golf courses to promote tourism, provide local recreation, and generate local revenues.
Jude Hofschneider
Senate Bill 22-31 found that Tinian and Aguiguan, or the Second Senatorial District, is the only district that does not have a golf course.
Although deeming golf courses as essential for the tourism industry, the legislation recognizes that golf courses in the First and Third Senatorial Districts are private courses owned and operated by hotels that open and close at the whim of the hotel owners.
Additionally, the bill states that municipal governments across the Commonwealth should be given the opportunity to establish and operate public golf courses so as to also provide local recreation for residents.
“Currently, residents of Tinian have to go to Saipan to play golf, which is very inconvenient and unaffordable for some Tinian residents,” the bill stated.
Municipal governments can also generate revenue from the golf fees that are imposed on those that will utilize the municipal golf courses, it added.
Moreover, municipal governments can establish public-private partnerships to construct and operate municipal golf courses if authorized by local law.
The bill would allow for “the establishment and regulation of municipal golf courses to give the respective municipal governments the authority to construct and operate such golf courses” for the purposes of promoting tourism, providing local recreation, and generating local revenues.
Title 1, Division 1, Chapter 4, section 1402(a) would be amended to include a new subsection allowing the establishment and regulation of municipal golf courses.
