Casino compensation payments should be made, Hofschneider tells Finance

Sen. Jude U. Hofschneider is urging the Department of Finance to release compensation payments owed to former Commonwealth Casino Commission members, saying the funding and legal authority for the payments have already been approved by law.

In a June 5 letter to Finance Secretary Tracy B. Norita, Hofschneider said Section 615 of Public Law 24-20 directs the secretary to reserve $210,000 from the $2.7 million received through the Imperial Pacific International settlement agreement to pay salaries owed to former casino commission members.

The senator noted that the law specifically states that the funds are to be distributed according to Schedule B of the legislation, which identifies the eligible recipients and payment amounts.

Hofschneider said Section 615 was enacted to address concerns previously raised by the Office of the Attorney General regarding whether there was a sufficient connection, or nexus, between the source of the money and the intended payments. According to the letter, the law establishes that nexus by linking the settlement proceeds directly to the compensation owed to former commission members.

He further pointed out that neither Section 615 nor Schedule B was vetoed and therefore remain valid and enforceable provisions of Public Law 24-20.

“Absent a legal basis for delaying the payments, the authorized compensation should be distributed” to the former commission members identified in the law, Hofschneider wrote. He added that the individuals have been waiting for compensation for several years and that both the funding source and payment authorization have already been approved.

Hofschneider also said the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee has begun reviewing the upcoming fiscal year budget but wants assurance that obligations authorized under Public Law 24-20 are satisfied first.

The letter was sent in Hofschneider’s capacity as chairman of the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee.