CNMI Senate vice president questions order to abolish Commonwealth Casino Commission

Karl King-Nabors described the order as an “attempt to usurp the duties of the legislative branch.”

Northern Mariana Islands.- Karl King-Nabors, vice president of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate, has criticised governor Arnold I. Palacios’s order to dissolve the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) and to hand the casino regulator’s main functions to the Lottery Commission.

King-Nabors said the order “attempts to alter statutory authority between two key regulatory bodies” and requires legislative action.

He said: “The executive order proposes transferring regulatory authority from the Casino Commission to the Lottery Commission, which was not envisioned by the existing statutes. Only the legislative branch has the power to amend such statutory frameworks, ensuring that checks and balances are respected.

“To compound its attempt to usurp the duties of the legislative branch, the executive order flaunts the plain language of our Constitution when it states that the economic conditions of the Commonwealth and the legal issues facing the sole casino licensee would equate to the termination for cause of the Casino Commissioners”.

King-Nabors referenced Article III Section 21 of the CNMI Constitution, which defines “cause” for termination as “gross neglect or dereliction of duty, breach of fiduciary duty, conviction of a felony, or mental or physical incapacity.” He said the executive order does not provide reasons that would meet this standard and warned that it could expose the Commonwealth government to serious legal risks.

He urged lawmakers to “carefully scrutinise executive order 2025-002 and its impacts on our form of government.” He added: “It is our duty as the elected members of the legislative branch to craft and promulgate laws our constituents demand and need.” The order will come into effect in sixty days unless a majority of lawmakers in each house votes to modify or disapprove it.

Palacios had argued that economic hardship required government functions to be combined to maintain essential public services. He also noted that the casino of the islands’ sole licensee, Imperial Pacific International (IPI), had been closed since 2020, rendering the CCC’s regulatory role inactive for over five years while it continued to incurr operational expenses despite little prospect of the situation changing soon.