CNMI Commonwealth Casino Commission Is Now One Step Away from Gaining More Power

Article by : Helen Dec 29, 2020

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The Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) has been fighting to gain more legal power for over a year now, and the CNMI legislature heard them – it’s better late than never. CNMI House of Representatives finally passed House Bill 21-11, and the vote was unanimous. Now it’s only one step away from becoming the law – Gov. Ralph DLG Torres has to sign it.

The Commonwealth Casino Commission’s final goal is to become “a proper autonomous public agency as intended by CNMI Public Law 19-24” via the new piece of legislation. It will also gain in enforcement and investigative powers. The bill is meant to “clear up the ambiguities,” too, as minority floor leader Rep. Tina Sablan (D-Saipan) put it.

Should the House Bill 21-11 be signed into law, the Commission will be in charge of granting casino licenses – as of now, it is the Commonwealth Lottery Commission that is responsible for issuing such permits. The Commission will also have its autonomy expanded under the passed bill. It will be in charge of determining its staffing levels – how many full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees it will employ.

Finally, the bill puts the Casino Commission in charge of establishing and managing the CCC regulatory fee fund. For now, these activities fall under the Finance secretary’s responsibilities. So, under the new piece of legislation, the CCC finances will be basically separated from the general governmental fund. The bill has been in development for a long time: it went through the 19th Legislature, the 20th, and then this 21st Legislature, according to CCC board chair Edward C. Deleon Guerrero.

It would strengthen the casino commission’s ability to enforce the mandates of the original gaming law, [Public Law] 18-56. And would really clarify and remove some of the ambiguities.

The bill was passed by the Senate last year, in March 2019, and the progress was stalled since then. Chances are, the ongoing scandal involving Imperial Pacific, especially when it comes to the Commission’s restrained response and, as it seems, its inability to manage the situation, played at least some role in getting the bill passed. But, according to Guerrero’s comments relayed in the Saipan Tribune article, “The CCC has worked diligently with the appropriate regulatory body this past four-and-a-half to five years to make sure that IPI is in compliance. However, he said, CCC always gets blamed for any safety issue involving the casino licensee, Imperial Pacific.”

All in all, if the passed bill is signed into law, the Commonwealth Casino Commission will become a more independent and autonomous agency with enhanced authority over its licensees. Hopefully, the new and improved Casino Commission will be in a better position to address the Imperial Pacific debacle – but that remains to be seen. The most recent development in the standoff between the Commission and Imperial Pacific was in the latter’s favor.

The casino operator owes $36 million in community benefit fund fees that remain unpaid as the company claims it has nothing to cover the debt with. The Commission threatened to take away Imperial Pacific’s casino license multiple times throughout 2019 and 2020 but never made good on the threat.

Finally, last month the regulators caved in and gave Imperial Pacific five more years to repay its existing debts. Furthermore, the Commission also allowed the casino operator three years to pay its annual fee due on March 1 – or until the long-awaited flagship project of the company, the casino resort in Saipan, is finished.