SAIPAN — House Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez has called an emergency session of the Twenty-Fourth Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature for Thursday, April 23 at 10:00 a.m. in the House Chamber at the Vice Speaker Jesus P. Mafnas Memorial Building in Capitol Hill to take up emergency appropriation legislation in response to Typhoon Sinlaku.
Two local bills are prefiled for introduction. House Local Bill 24-56, introduced by Rep. Patrick H. San Nicolas of Tinian, would appropriate $156,000 from poker fee revenues collected in the Second Senatorial District and direct the funds to the Office of the Mayor of Tinian and Aguiguan for operations, personnel and public programs to address recovery from Sinlaku. House Local Bill 24-57, introduced by Rep. Julie Marie A. Ogo of Rota, would re-appropriate $80,000 in previously allotted poker fee revenues from the First Senatorial District to the Office of the Mayor of Rota for the same purpose.
The session is open to the public. Oral and written testimony may be presented. The bills are on their first legislative day and would require additional session days before passage.
Also appearing on the agenda is House Local Bill 24-55, introduced on April 18 by Rep. Blas Jonathan Attao and a broad coalition of Saipan representatives, which would appropriate Third Senatorial District poker fee revenues for recovery purposes. That bill is on its third legislative day.
