State governments no longer owe a portion of their public land lease revenue to nat’l government

President Tommy Remengesau Jr. has officially signed SB NO. 10-65, SD1, HD1 into law RPPL 10-48, amending the Palau National Code and allowing 100 percent of all revenue derived from State Public Land Authorities to be retained by the States.

This law amends Section 217 of Title 35 of the Palau National Code to give “all” rather than the “one fourth” of the revenue from the states’ management of public lands to be deposited straight into the treasury of that state government.

In Article XII, Section 1 of the Constitution requires all revenues to be deposited straight into appropriate treasury. Since the state land is owned, administered, and managed by state public land authority, the funds should be retained by the states.

This change was intended during the Eight Olbiil Er a Kelulau when RPPL 8 -18 amended Section 217 of Title 35.  Since the RPPL 8-18 became law all the States have retained one hundred percent of the funds derived from their respective state land authorities’ administration.

Governors of all the 16 States have been wanting to have this language of the law clarified for decades.  This law fulfills their requests after so many years.