All 18 legislators present voted in favour of the bill to reallocate Imperial Pacific International’s casino licence fee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Northern Mariana Islands.- The House of Representatives has passed House Bill 23-60, which reallocates a portion of Imperial Pacific International’s casino licence fee to fund the Health Network Program (HNP) in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bill, authored by representative\u00a0Blas Jonathan Attao<\/strong>, seeks to provide additional funding for the programme, previously known as the medical referral services. In 2018, then-governor\u00a0Ralph DLG Torres\u00a0<\/strong>signed Public Law 20-61, directing IPI’s US$15m exclusive casino licence fee to various government projects. As part of this reallocation, US$1,085,000 was designated for the construction of a solid waste transfer station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under H.B. 23-60, Attao proposed redirecting the remaining funds of US$881,987 towards supporting the Health Network Program. The bill includes a provision to reserve US$50,000 for inter-island medical referrals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Mariana’s Variety, during the House roll call vote,\u00a0all 18 members present<\/strong> voted in favour of the bill<\/strong>. The CNMI government, through the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation (CHCC), aims to allocate US$9.66m to the Health Network Program. This funding will support operations, address projected revenue shortfalls, provide a local match for certified public expenditures and cover capital expenditures, including the Tinian Health Center and Rota Health Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In June, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit <\/strong>ruled in favour of the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) in its appeal against a US District Court order that prevented it from revoking Imperial Pacific International\u2019s (IPI) casino licence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The appeal was filed by the CCC last October after Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona <\/strong>granted IPI\u2019s motion<\/a> to seek arbitration in its dispute with the CCC over its force majeure defence for the non-payment of casino licence fees. She also granted IPI\u2019s request for an injunction barring the CCC from conducting a withdrawal hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n