Ways and Means committee: summary of actions — tax, cannabis, legal aid bills advanced; several measures tabled

The House Standing Committee on Ways and Means considered a series of bills and motions and took the following actions during the meeting.

Votes and dispositions

- House Bill 24-9 (amend 4 CMC to reallocate a portion of hotel occupancy tax to parks and recreation): Tabled. The chair asked staff to solicit comments from the Marianas Visitors Authority, Parks and Recreation, the Rota mayor’s office and others (including NEEMO) before further action.

- House Bill 24-12 (tax amnesty; waive penalties and interest): Committee moved to draft a committee report and adopt a technical correction changing 60 days to 90 days; motion adopted (ayes announced 7). See separate article for full coverage.

- House Bill 24-16 (prioritize kinship placement for children in protective custody): Tabled; a member noted the bill appears to be within the jurisdiction of Health and Welfare rather than Ways and Means.

- House Bill 24-18 (earmark $200,000 of e-gaming fee for enforcement by Department of Finance): Committee adopted a motion to draft a committee report recommending passage and moved the bill forward to the full House.

- House Local Bill 24-27 (excise tax on imported betel nut and lime): Floor amendment adopted (central rate reduced to $3 per pound); committee adopted draft 1 and will forward a report; a support letter from the Saipan Chamber of Commerce was placed on the record.

- House Bill 24-24 (create legal services and access to justice tax credit): Sponsor offered floor amendments to rewrite statutory subsections and to add eligibility and expenditure restrictions for qualifying nonprofit legal services organizations; floor amendment adopted and committee voted to forward draft 1 to the full House.

- House Bill 24-30 (appropriate funds to CNMI Cannabis Commission and segregate TSS designated share): Committee adopted a motion to draft a committee report and forward the bill to the full House.

- House Bill 24-31 (repeal restrictions on use of funds in cannabis accounts so the legislature may appropriate): Committee adopted the bill for a committee report and forwarded it. During discussion Rep. Ralph Yemo warned that certain federal grants could be jeopardized by changes related to cannabis funding; the committee recorded the warning for the record and noted the bill separates the account while continuing to require legislative appropriation prior to expenditure.

- House Bill 24-32 (establish transient accommodations tax and regulate short-term rentals): Tabled to solicit comments from other agencies.

- House Bill 24-33 (define scope of annual general revenues): Tabled for further research and committee work by the sponsor.

What the motions mean

Most passed items were motions to draft committee reports and forward bills to the full House; the committee did not complete final floor votes on the measures themselves. Several bills were tabled to gather agency comments or to correct technical drafting errors.

Requests for follow-up and outstanding items

- HB24-9: solicit written comments from Marianas Visitors Authority, Parks and Recreation (Third Senatorial District), Rota mayor’s office and NEEMO.

- HB24-18: no further solicitation deemed necessary; committee moved to forward the bill.

- HB24-30 / HB24-31: committee requested commission provide a proposed plan and documentation of needs tied to any requested drawdowns; members asked for certifications of available funds and cautioned about possible federal grant conflicts.

Next steps: Staff will prepare committee reports for the bills the committee advanced; bills tabled will be revisited after the requested agency comments or technical fixes are provided to committee staff.