House committee adopts substitute for remittance levy, forwards bill to full House

The House Standing Committee on Ways and Means on resumed session adopted a house substitute for House Bill 24-72 HS 1, a measure to impose a small outbound remittance levy in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and voted to forward a committee report recommending passage to the full House.

Floor Leader Marissa Flores, the bill’s author, told the committee the measure is intended as “reinvestment” rather than punishment and would direct revenue to scholarships, the Northern Marianas Technical Institute and financial literacy and health-network programs. “This remittance levy is not about punishment. It’s about reinvestment,” Flores said during her explanation of the substitute.

Flores cited data on outbound cash flows, saying that from 2018 to 2020 the Commonwealth’s total outbound remittances, as presented to the committee, were $535,840,000 and that peak years saw more than $100 million leave the local economy. She said the substitute aligns local rules with a federal model and referenced federal code as cited in the transcript to avoid conflict with U.S. law.

The substitute would create a local licensing and registration regime for money-service businesses so companies not registered with the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) could not avoid the levy. Flores said one MSB is registered with FinCEN and already pays the federal 1%; the substitute aims to require others to remit locally or qualify for exemptions.

The substitute includes a de minimis threshold exempting transactions under $50 from the levy and a hardship or humanitarian exemption for residents sending funds after disasters, Flores said. The bill also contains provisions for registration, reporting and enforcement authority vested in the Secretary of Finance, with implementation coordination noted with the Secretary of Commerce.

The committee proceeded by voice votes. The author offered the house substitute and it was seconded; the chair called for ayes and nays and declared, “The ayes have it,” adopting the substitute. Representative Joel Camacho moved to adopt a committee report recommending passage of House Bill 24-72 HS 1 to the full House; the motion was seconded, the committee voted by voice and the chair again declared the motion adopted.

Flores acknowledged the measure will still require further legislative approval, including action by the Senate, and said the committee should expect possible amendments during that process. The committee adjourned at 01:35.

What happens next: The committee report recommending passage will accompany the bill to the full House for consideration; the transcript records no roll-call vote totals in committee (the votes were taken by voice and recorded only as adopted).