This is to announce that the House session, which began on Friday at 9:30am and recessed at noon, will resume on Monday, March 3 at 10am in the House Chamber. 
 
The agenda for Friday’s House session (attached) was amended again on the floor.   The following items were added:
 
HOUSE BILLS

• HB 16-50:  To mandate attendance for early childhood education, to expand the age range for early childhood and adult education, and for other purposes (Rep. Ralph Torres+8)
• HB 16-51:  To make appropriations for the operations of the Government of the CNMI, its agencies, instrumentalities, and programs, and to provide budget authority for public corporations for Fiscal Year 2008.
• HB 16-52: To permit a borrower of CDA to assign land compensation due from the Commonwealth Government to pay for balance on a CDA loan (Rep. Ray Yumul + 7)
• HB 16-53:  To amend 4 CMC Section 1205 (b) to enable qualifying institutions to receive up to $10,000 in educational tax credits (Rep. Diego Benavente + 7)
• HB 16-54:  To repeal and reenact Section 2 of Public Law 14-98 to exempt the Northern Marianas College from a rate increase of the employer contribution to the Retirement Fund (Rep. Dave Apatang)

HOUSE LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES

• H.L.I. 16-10:  To amend Article IV, Section 5 of the Constitution of the CNMI to authorize the election of the chief justice and presiding judge by a majority of the justices and judges, respectively (Rep. Ray Yumul)
• H.L.I. 16-11:  To amend Article III, Section 9(a) of the Constitution of the NMI to prohibit the withdrawal of any funds from the General Fund except by appropriations made by law (Rep. Diego Benavente)

HOUSE STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

• House Standing Committee Report on HB 16-1, “To amend the Commonwealth Code to take into account the Rota Casino,” was presented.  The Ways and Means Committee recommends the bill for passage.
• House Standing Committee Report on HB 16-2, “To amend Public Law 15-8 to reallocate poker license fees to each senatorial district,” was presented.  The Ways and Means Committee recommends the bill for passage.
• House Standing Committee Report on HB 16-3, “To amend 4 CMC Section 1301 to earmark Gross Receipts Taxes collected from gambling establishments in the First Senatorial District so they may be appropriated by the Legislative Delegation from the Third Senatorial District,” was presented. The Ways and Means Committee recommends the bill for passage.
• House Standing Committee Report on HB 16-7, “To include the electrical system upgrade for the Tinian Junior and Senior High School under the funding appropriated under Public Law 12-69,” was presented.   The Ways and Means Committee recommends the bill for passage.

ACTION TAKEN

• House Bill 16-51, the budget, “to make appropriations for the operations of the government of the CNMI, etc.” was placed on the calendar. 
• House Resolution 16-8, introduced by Rep. Joseph Reyes, to recognize the Borja Family of As Teo for their continued and untiring efforts in maintaining Our Lady of Santa Lourdes Shrine and hosting the annual fiesta, and to encourage the Marianas Visitors Authority Division of Parks and Recreation to provide logistical support for the operations of the site — ADOPTED
• House Joint Resolution, 16-2, introduced by Rep. Victor Hocog, respectfully requesting and urging the U.S. Congress to increase the authorization authority of Public Law No. 99-396 for payment of annual amounts of direct grant assistance for the Government of the NMI to assist the CNMI in its efforts toward economic recovery — ADOPTED
• House Standing Committee Report on HB 16-4, “A Bill for an act to amend Public Law 12-61 governing the deposit security required of funds of the CNMI Government and its various agencies, including autonomous entities”  — ADOPTED.  The bill was recommended for passage by the Commerce and Tourism Committee.
• House Standing Committee Reports on HB 16-1, 16-2, 16-3, and 16-7 (see above) were placed on the calendar. 
• Senate Joint Resolution No. 16-1, SD1, was amended to change the location of the State of the Commonwealth Address, scheduled for Friday, April 25, 2008 at 9am, from the Senate Chamber to the Multipurpose Center in Susupe.
•  Rep. Stanley Torres submitted two privileged speeches on the Northern Marianas College president, the DPS Commissioner, et al.

After the session, House members were invited to receive a presentation from Mr. Steven Potts of the USDA Graduate School, titled, “Does Fiduciary Irresponsibility Foil Economic Development?”  It was an excellent, as well as sobering, presentation, and our thanks to the Department of Interior, the USDA Graduate School, and the Office of the Public Auditor for coordinating the event.
 
Mr. Potts proposed that both economic opportunity and fiduciary responsibility are necessary conditions for economic development.  A fiduciary duty is the highest standard of care imposed at either equity or law, and government is the ultimate fiduciary in democracies.  Fiduciary irresponsibility includes corruption (i.e., bribes), unethical conduct (i.e., nepotism and steering contract source selection), financial irresponsibility (i.e., consistently spending more than we earn, failing to tie government budgets to results, inconsistent taxation practices, waste of public assets and resources), lack of accountability, failure to enforce, and failure to inform the public. 
 
Mr. Potts distinguished between “rational investors,” who invest for the long-term and require economic opportunity, foreseeable outcomes, and manageable risk, and “skimmers,” the short-term investors who take advantage of niche markets and opportunities to make a quick profit and then leave.  Rational investors do not invest for charitable or humanitarian reasons, nor do they accept unpredictable risks.  They also do not trust irresponsible governments, and seek out instead responsible, ethical governments that spend within their means, tie budgets to results, have reasonable and predictable tax burdens, limit waste and abuse, hold officials accountable, enforce the laws, and inform the public. 
 
Mr. Potts’ presentation followed another presentation, also provided by the USDA Graduate School and given earlier this week by Mr. Frank Crawford on the CNMI’s Performeter Rating — that is the rating of our financial health and performance on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest score, and based on data provided by our financial audits.  The CNMI scored just slightly above a 2.
 
I am hopeful that we will get to the budget on Monday — and that we will pass a responsible one, at that.