Senate passes multiple appropriations drawing on public-trust dividends and tobacco-settlement funds; debate centers on using dividends for personnel

Saipan — The Northern Mariana Islands Senate on June 26 passed several House-derived appropriations, authorizing funds drawn from public-trust interest, CEDA dividends and tobacco-settlement receipts to support typhoon recovery, disaster-relief personnel and other priorities.

Conference Committee Report 24-02 (House Bill 24-74 SS2 CCS1) passed by unanimous recorded vote; the measure would appropriate funds derived from Mariana public land trust interest. The Senate also approved Conference Committee Report 24-03 (House Bill 24-89 HS1 SD1 CCS1), which would appropriate $300,000 of dividends collected by the Commonwealth Economic Development Authority (CEDA) from the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC) to fund Super Typhoon Sinaku disaster relief operations and personnel in the second senatorial district. Conference Committee Report 24-04 (House Bill 24-91 HS1 SD1 CCS1) — a parallel $300,000 appropriation for the first senatorial district — and Conference Committee Report 24-05 (House Bill 24-96, authorizing $960,235.74 in tobacco-settlement funds) also passed unanimously.

All reported conference committee measures were adopted by voice or roll-call recording of seven yes votes and no recorded opposition.

A key point of contention during debate on HB 24-89 was whether funds derived from CEDA dividends — which the record shows are generated in part by a prior conversion of a CUC debt to equity — can be used for personnel and operations rather than strictly for infrastructure. Senator Hoff Schneider asked how the appropriation’s personnel-and-operations language could be reconciled with the enabling statute, which committee members described as authorizing district-level infrastructure appropriations.

The floor speaker who answered the question explained that the funds originate from an equity conversion and monthly payments to CEDA (noting recurring monthly receipts on the order of about $30,000), and that the conference bill includes an "outstanding"/"outstanding clause" to permit the local delegation flexibility to use the appropriation for personnel and operations in this instance. The same explanation noted prior legislative actions that tapped the fund (including roughly $5 million used previously to help fund retirement-related payments).

“That's the origin of the funds as far as the legislation itself is concerned,” the floor speaker said in reply to a question about CEDA receipts and appropriation authority. Senator Balta had asked whether the cap applied per municipality; the floor speaker said the enabling statute allows appropriation for infrastructure at the district level and described the bill’s drafting choices.

Senator Hoff Schneider also reported on a meeting with CUC held earlier that day and urged the legislature to engage quickly about a possible line of credit to address CUC’s liquidity needs and to ensure continued electricity and water service during recovery. “We need to act and we need to act swiftly,” he said, noting CUC’s procurement needs for materials and the operational risk to vulnerable residents if services lapse.

Separately, senators discussed using a portion of tobacco-settlement money to subsidize airfares and support tourism recovery, with the conference proposal allocating about $70,000 toward airfare stabilization and related incentives.

Votes at a glance
- HB 24-74 SS2 CCS1 (Conference Committee Report 24-02): Passed by Senate (7–0)
- HB 24-89 HS1 SD1 CCS1 (Conference Committee Report 24-03): Passed by Senate (7–0); appropriates $300,000 from CEDA dividends for Super Typhoon Sinaku relief (second senatorial district)
- HB 24-91 HS1 SD1 CCS1 (Conference Committee Report 24-04): Passed by Senate (7–0); appropriates $300,000 from CEDA dividends for Super Typhoon Sinaku relief (first senatorial district)
- HB 24-96 SD1 CCS1 (Conference Committee Report 24-05): Passed by Senate (7–0); appropriates $960,235.74 in tobacco-settlement funds identified by the governor

What happens next: The measures will be transmitted according to legislative procedure; senators scheduled committee follow-ups (including a Fiscal Affairs meeting on June 30) to clarify budget interpretation and retirement-payment issues.

Sources on the record included floor explanations of the funding origin (conversion of debt to equity at CEDA and monthly receipts), the enabling statute cited by committee members as authorizing district infrastructure appropriations, and a request that the Senate engage quickly with CUC staff on liquidity support.