The Saipan and Northern Islands Delegation held a session on Monday. We passed one resolution and two local bills:
COMMENTS
On HLR 16-2, Affirming the Authority of the Zoning Board
I voted yes to the resolution, which came after the House recently passed two resolutions asking the Zoning Board to amend the zoning plan for one lot in Kagman, and for a brewery in Capitol Hill. The author said the resolution was written to convey to the public the message that the delegation “was not asleep” when it passed the Saipan Zoning Law in the 15th legislature. The resolution noted that the delegation had empowered the Zoning Board to initiate and make determinations on changes in land use district boundaries, that the delegation could also amend the zoning code, that changes in land use district boundaries should be made after adequate public notice and comment in accordance with the law, and that the delegation should be informed if any changes are made.
On the two local appropriations bills, HLB 16-1, S1, and HLB 16-2, S1
I voted no to both appropriations bills. HLB 16-1, S1 proposed to reappropriate $70,200 from Saipan Local Law 14-30 (1 MG Steel Tank for CUC), and $20,000 from Saipan Local Law 14-23 (CUC Airport Sand Filtration System) to settle part of a land compensation claim for Mr. Jose Ch. Camacho. The bill was a substitute, introduced on the floor, for the original HLB 16-1 which had proposed to reappropriate $324,802 from Saipan Local Law 11-2 for the same settlement of judgment. Some members, myself included, questioned why we were going to such lengths to compensate one person, rather than seeking to fairly compensate everyone who has been waiting for years for their settlement awards. Other members who voted no to this bill included Senator Frica Pangelinan, Representative Joseph Reyes, and Representative Edward Salas.
HLB 16-2, S1 was also a substitute for a local bill that had originally proposed to reappropriate $38,000 from Saipan Local Law 15-16 for school supplies for Hopwood Junior High, San Antonio Elementary, Koblerville Elementary, Dandan Elementary, San Vicente Elementary, and Saipan Southern High. The substitute instead repealed and reenacted Section 2(3) of Saipan Local Law 15-6 to pay $200,344 for land compensation for Kannat Tabla owners; $252,000 for land compensation for Mr. Jose Ch. Camacho, $8,000 for the JROTC Army Ball, $30,000 for the Oceania Championship Games scheduled for June 2008; and $10,000 for the Saipan Fishermen’s Association. The substitute also reappropriated funds from Saipan Local Law 14-11 to give $50,000 to the Junior Statesmen Program, and $14,924 to the Saipan Little League. The substitute was then amended on the floor to completely scrap the appropriations for the schools; it was noted that the funds that would have gone to the schools had already been reappropriated for the beach pathway restoration.
Saipan Local Law 15-6 had originally appropriated funds for the Kannat Tabla drainage project and for San Antonio classrooms. The entire amount that had been appropriated for the drainage project is now gone if this bill is signed into law. The drainage project has not started yet, and according to Precinct 5 Representative Ed Salas was in fact in need of additional funding. Saipan Local Law 14-11 had originally appropriated funds for the Water Task Force, Precinct 3 road paving, Precinct 2 roads, and WSR Elementary School.
Neither bill had been referred to the Ways and Means Committee for review. It wasn’t clear if the funds were in fact available. It wasn’t clear what the status was of the projects from which we were reappropriating funds. It wasn’t clear if reappropriating funds that that had been set aside as a local match for the federally funded CUC tank and sand filtration system would threaten those projects in any way. I asked for documents to verify that reappropriating these local matching funds would not jeopardize the federal projects, but there were none. I requested that the first bill be sent to the Ways and Means committee, but that request was not entertained. I would have requested committee referral for the second bill as well, but there was a rush to pass that bill too and debate was ended early even while members had their hands raised, which I noted in my brief comments on the floor before I voted no.
Shortly after the delegation passed these two extremely irresponsible appropriations bills, we received a briefing from the President of the Northern Marianas College and two members of the commission currently reviewing NMC’s efforts towards compliance with accreditation standards. The commissioners stressed the need for NMC to operate independently and without undue political interference, and also emphasized the college’s need for fiscal stability, stating that NMC’s erratic funding over the years has contributed significantly to its accreditation troubles.
After the presentation, I noted that the delegation had earlier passed two bills appropriating over half a million dollars — none of which went to the college or to any of our public schools. And I asked that we do a better job in future sessions of prioritizing scarce funds.
In addition to the need for prioritization of funds is another serious issue, and that is the Legislature’s habit of constantly reprogramming funds in piecemeal appropriations bills without consulting with the agencies that stand to lose (or gain) the funds, without having fully investigated the impacts of such reappropriations on ongoing projects and public services in the appropriate committees, and without having verified whether or not the funding is even available. As one constituent remarked to me, “How can we start or finish any projects when the money is taken away as fast as it’s given?” Our community deserves better.
**
I welcome any comments, as always. I can be reached at 664-8931 or 483-3935, or at this email address.
Bad Behavior has blocked 594 access attempts in the last 7 days.