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Saipan Humane Society urges delegation to back House Local Bill 24-15, delegation approves measure unanimously
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Summary
Saipan Humane Society told the House delegation that local funding is necessary for pet care, spay/neuter and public-health work on Saipan and asked members to support House Local Bill 24-15; the delegation later passed the bill 17-0.
Sharon Peck, speaking for Saipan Humane Society, urged the House delegation to support House Local Bill 24-15 during public comment at the delegation’s June 18 special session in Saipan.
Peck told the delegation she and two colleagues were present representing the Saipan Humane Society and described the nonprofit as “the only full time veterinary clinic and animal welfare nonprofit on Saipan.” She told members the organization had served more than 3,000 pets this year, sterilized 318 animals, and provided more than 1,100 vaccinations and emergency care. “On behalf of the Saipan Humane Society, we are writing to respectfully request your support for House Local Bill 24‑15,” Peck said.
In prepared remarks, Peck and the organization argued federal and international grant programs often exclude or deprioritize U.S. territories and that local government support is therefore “necessary.” The testimony tied the services to public-health benefits and the local tourism economy and said subsidized veterinary services and a spay‑and‑neuter program would reduce nuisance behavior, control stray-animal populations and help prevent zoonotic disease.
Representative Marissa Flores later addressed the delegation during consideration of House Local Bill 24‑15, noting the measure had previously been vetoed and reintroduced. “I just like to, express, I know this bill was vetoed and then this there's a reintroduction again, for the appropriation. But, I'd also like to express that the whatever the veto language was or the communication was between the governor, and the Sniled Committee that that has been rectified. So I just wanna put that for the record,” Representative Marissa Flores said.
On a motion to pass House Local Bill 24‑15 — described on the floor as an appropriation from revenues collected for the Third Senatorial District pursuant to Public Law 20‑59 — the delegation voted unanimously. The chair’s clerk announced that all 17 members present voted in the affirmative and that “House Local Bill 24‑15 hereby passes the delegation.”
The testimony and the bill's passage mean the delegation will send the appropriation to the next steps required under local procedure.
