A joint House and Senate meeting with representatives from the Retirement Fund has been scheduled for Wednesday, February 11 @ 8:30am in the House Chamber.
Also, representatives of the Department of Defense have scheduled a briefing with the House and Senate to discuss the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Mariana Islands Range Complex this Friday, February 13 @ 2:30pm in the House Chamber.
Posted via email from Tina Sablan
The following meetings will be held this week:
1) Joint meeting with House Commerce & Tourism Committee and Senate Resources, Economic Development & Programs Committee on Tuesday, February 10 @ 2:00pm in the House Chamber — to receive a presentation from the Commonwealth Development Authority on loans, foreclosures, qualifying certificates, and other programs. For more information, contact the office of Rep. Joseph Reyes at 664-8836.
2) 2009 CNMI Agricultural Summit on February 11, 8:30am – 4:30pm & February 12, 8:30am – 12:00pm at Saipan World Resort. Registration starts at 7:30am on both days. The summit is sponsored by the Farmer Support Group, in collaboration with Northern Marianas College CREES, Department of Land and Natural Resources, and Saipan Municipal Council. For more information, contact Ms. Carol Hosono at NMC’s Community Development Institute at 234-5498, x. 1010 or email carolynh@nmcnet.edu .
3) House Ways and Means Committee Meeting, Thursday, February 12, @ 2:00pm in the Speaker’s Conference Room — to discuss pending legislation that has been referred to the committee.
4) Joint public hearing with Senate Committee on Resources, Economic Development & Programs and House Committee on Natural Resources on Thursday, February 12, @ 6:00pm in the Tinian Superior Court — to receive testimony on the Neo Goldwings Paradise public land lease proposal. Witnesses summoned include Secretary of Public Lands John del Rosario, Neo Goldwings Paradise representatives, Tinian Mayor Jose San Nicolas, Tinian Municipal Council Chair Antonio Borja, and Tinian Gaming Commission Chair Francisco Borja. Members of the general public are also encouraged to submit oral or written testimony. For more information, contact the offices of either Senator Jude Hofschneider (664-8922 or senaorjuhofschneider@yahoo.com ) or Representative Ray Tebuteb (664-8983 or rtebuteb@yahoo.com ).
5) House Commerce & Tourism Committee meeting on Tuesday, February 17 @ 10am in the House Chamber — to receive a presentation from the Northern Marianas Housing Corporation on loans, foreclosures, and other programs.
6) Public hearings on House Legislative Initiative 16-18 –to amend Article XI of the Constitution to authorize the Dept of Public Lands to reserve 20% of its operational expenses to pay and satisfy land compensation claims:
For more information, contact the office of Rep. Ray Tebuteb at 664-8983 or rtebuteb@yahoo.com .
7) Public comment period on the Dept of the Navy’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement for the military Mariana Islands Range Complex — Public hearings are scheduled in the CNMI on the following days:
Written comments may also be submitted to the following address:
Mariana Islands Range Complex EIS
258 Makalapa Drive, Suite 100
Attn: EV2
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
96860-3134
Fax: (808) 474-5419
Email: marianas.tap.eis@navy.mil
All comments must be postmarked or received by March 16, 2009 to become part of the official record. For more information, visit www.marianasrangecomplexeis.com
Finally, although the session call has not yet been officially transmitted, the House is likely to have a session this week Friday, February 13. A key agenda item will be the Governor’s veto of the budget bill. We expect to officially receive his veto message today.
Thanks very much and have a good week,
Tina Sablan
This is to announce that the House will be having a session today, Thursday, October 23 @ 1:30pm in the House Chamber. CLICK HERE for the draft agenda. We are likely to take up the Senate’s budget version for FY 2009. Click here for the Senate’s budget proposal, and click here for the Senate Fiscal Affairs committee report.
Also, the Senate Committee on Resources, Economic Development, and Programs has rescheduled to November 13, 2008 @ 10am in the Senate Chamber. Public Lands Secretary John Del Rosario and Assistant Attorney General Brad Huesman have been summoned as witnesses.
Finally, the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation will be having a session on November 12, 2008 in the House Chamber. There is no agenda available yet, but we are likely to take up proposed amendments to the Saipan Zoning Law. For more information, contact SNILD Chairman Rep. Ramon Tebuteb at 664-8983.
The following meetings will be held in the Legislature this week:
Also, next Monday, October 20 @ 11am in the House Chamber, a joint House and Senate meeting is scheduled with three White House representatives to discuss the proposed CNMI National Marine Sanctuary.
This is to announce that the House will be having a session today, Wednesday, September 10 @ 9:30am in the House Chamber.
Also, the Senate will be having a session tomorrow, Thursday, September 11 @ 10am in the Senate Chamber. The agendas for both sessions are attached below.
Finally, the House Standing Committee on Commerce and Tourism had to reschedule its Monday morning meeting due to a power outage. The rescheduled date and time is its today, September 10, at 1:30pm in the Speaker’s Conference Room
I have received quite a few requests for the full text of the letter sent by Representative Salas and myself to the Department of Labor inquiring on a number of department policies and procedures, as well as certain official reports and statements issued over the last eight months. I am attaching the letter in this email. Rep. Salas was the Vice-Chair of the Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations and was tasked by the JGO Chair, Rep. Santos, to handle labor and immigration issues within the committee. I was also a member of the JGO Committee.
This is to announce that the following meetings will be taking place in the Legislature this week and next Monday:
There will be a Special Session of the House tomorrow, Tuesday, June 17 @ 9:30am in the House Chamber.
Also, tomorrow evening starting at 6pm there will be a community forum at the Multipurpose Center in Susupe to discuss proposed short-term and long-term solutions for the CNMI’s utilities crisis, and ways that concerned ratepayers can become better organized and more actively involved in the effort to realize efficient, reliable, and affordable utility services in the islands. The forum is free and open to the public. Carpooling is encouraged.
The following House Standing Committees have rescheduled public hearings this week and next:
1. Judiciary & Governmental Operations (on the Constitutional Convention; 6 legislative initiatives; and HB 16-38 Civil Service Act and HB 16-86 Resident Foreign National Act — rescheduled for Tinian and Rota)
2. Ways and Means Budget Hearings (Tinian and Rota)
3. Health, Education, & Welfare (on HB 16-09 Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation Act; and HB 16-47 Smoke Free Air Act)
The rescheduled JGO and Ways and Means hearing notices are attached in this email. Please note, the most recently-announced schedule for the JGO hearings on Saipan is the same: June 10, 11, & 12 @ 6pm in the House Chamber. That notice is also attached in this email.
The rescheduled HEW hearing notices will be attached in the next email.
For more information or to obtain copies of bills, please contact the following offices:
Office of Rep. Rosemond Santos (JGO Chair) — 664-8965
Office of Rep. Ray Yumul (W&M Chair) — 664-8841
Office of Rep. Ralph Torres (HEW Chair) — 664-8901
JGO Public Hearing Notice_Tinian.doc
JGO Public Hearing Rescheduled Notice_Rota
JGO Saipan Reschedule_of_Public_Hearing_Notice
W&M.Tinian.Rota Budget Hearings
This is to announce that the House will be holding a Special Session tomorrow, Wednesday, May 29 @ 10am in the House Chamber. Click here for the agenda.
In addition, the House Ways and Means Committee will be meeting today, May 28 @ 2pm with the Secretary of Finance and again at 3:30pm in the House chamber for a budget hearing on the Northern Marianas College.
The House Ways and Means Committee has also scheduled budget hearings on Rota on June 6, 2008 beginning at 9am in the Rota Mayor’s Conference Room with the following agencies:
Public hearings on Tinian are tentatively scheduled for Monday, June 9, though not yet confirmed.
For more information, contact the Office of Rep. Ray Yumul at 664-8841.
This is to announce that the House will be holding a Special Session tomorrow, Friday May 23 @ 10am in the House Chamber. Click here for the draft agenda.
This is to announce the following legislative meetings/hearings:
Also — volunteers circulating the Open Government Act petitions for signatures are asked to submit their petitions to me by Saturday, May 31. The petitions can be dropped off to me at my office, or I can arrange to pick them up. Please call me at 483-3935 to make arrangements.
This is to announce that the House will be going into special session tomorrow, Thursday, May 15 @ 2pm in the House Chamber.
Click here for the Order of Business
Prefiled Bills:
Click to view the following:
Below are the notes from last week’s first quarterly public forum on the State of the Legislature. Topics focused on CUC and reforming the Legislature. If you attended the forum, please let me know if I have missed or misstated anything. My thanks to all who helped organize the forum, and all who were able to participate.
Also, if anyone would like to help collect signatures for the petition to apply the Open Government Act to the Legislature, please let me know. You don’t have to be a registered voter of the CNMI to collect signatures, but you do have to be a currently registered voter for your signature to count (if you voted in the last election, you are current). Petitions will be collected and submitted at the end of this month.
Please feel free to share this email with others. For comments or questions, I can be reached at 483-3935, 664-8931, or by email at tinasablan@gmail.com .
STATE OF THE LEGISLATURE PUBLIC FORUM #1
May 7, 2008
Venue: Multipurpose Center (Annex), Susupe
Time: 6pm-8pm
# of people: approximately 60
Format: Ground rules governing the forum were established and agreed upon. Two binders containing status reports of legislation introduced in the House and Senate; attendance records; voting records; and contact information for all members of the legislature were circulated, and participants interested in obtaining electronic copies of these records signed up for them. Discussion began on the general purpose of the forums, and moved to specific topics: 1) CUC and the Commonwealth’s energy crisis; and 2) Reforming the Legislature. Tina Sablan facilitated the discussion and took notes.
GROUND RULES
PURPOSE OF THE FORUMS
CUC & THE ENERGY CRISIS
1. Updates were provided on:
2. Recent calls have been made to convene a CNMI Energy Summit to engage the leaders of the Commonwealth and the community in urgently-needed short-term, medium-term, and long-term energy planning. It was said that day-to-day crises at CUC and political bickering and electioneering within the Legislature and between the Legislature and the Administration have thus far prevented any cooperative planning efforts toward resolving the CNMI’s energy problems. The Washington Representative, the Vice Speaker, and other House members have thus far publicly expressed support for the summit. Technical assistance is available to the CNMI to help guide the planning process. Widespread public support for such a summit can help persuade other leaders to come to the table.
3. Some forum participants asked why the federal government is not doing more to help the CNMI in its worsening utilities crisis; others asked why the Governor has not asked the federal government for more help. It was noted that there is generally a lack of information about how federal capital improvement funds are being spent, and how they can be reprogrammed to address the CNMI’s utilities problems. Questions also were asked about Compact Impact funds owed to the local government, and if local government officials couldn’t do more to garner funds owed by the federal government which could be directed toward utilities and other critical public services.
5. On leadership during this utilities crisis, and the need for citizens to get organized: Forum participants said they feel that the leaders of the Commonwealth do not truly care about the suffering of the community. Frustration was expressed about how the government is “cannibalizing” itself to pay for fuel and still the Commonwealth’s leaders seem unwilling or unable to work together to address the power crisis. Meanwhile, the government continues to blast its air conditioning and lawmakers continue to drive luxury cars at the expense of taxpayers. Some noted that few legislators were present at the forum and asked why. It was said that citizens need to get more organized and begin staging demonstrations at the legislature, the governor’s office, and at the federal courthouse to call on local and federal government officials to resolve the utilities crisis.
5. On energy self-sufficiency: It was said that citizens need to rely less on government and more on themselves, particularly with respect to energy self-sufficiency. Energy was said to be the most important issue facing the community right now. Fuel prices are likely to continue to rise, and the CNMI has an opportunity to change to become a more sustainable community. Public Law 15-23, the Renewable Energy Act, requires CUC to implement net energy metering to allow for homeowners and businesses to install their own renewable energy devices and feed power back into the grid. The problem is that regulations have not yet been promulgated. It was said that net energy metering regulations should be a top priority for the new PUC.
6. On the Public Utilities Commission: Concern was expressed about the Legislature’s move to pass legislation (now PL 16-2) to allow the PUC to conduct business with a quorum of one, in the event that two of the three members resign or are removed. Participants also asked when the PUC would be moving to set utility rates and it was noted that the commissioners must be sent to rate-setting training. Participants also asked who would be paying for this training, and expressed concerns about the additional cost to the government.
7. On privatization: It was said that the CNMI government needs to stop talking about privatization and move decisively to actually do it, and do it right. The government has a history of failed privatization attempts, and it was said that the failure to privatize has been more political than anything else (i.e., politicians are afraid of losing votes if jobs are lost; corruption and personal interests have thwarted privatization efforts in the past). But by now the government has proven that it cannot run the utilities effectively, and consumer suffering grows. Participants said they felt that CUC continues to be overstaffed, salary scales are completely disjointed, and incompetent management continues to plague the agency. Taxpayers are not only subsidizing fuel, but payroll as well.
Participants asked if the government was considering Telesource’s offer, or the proposal to introduce new and safer models of nuclear technology to the CNMI. Although it was agreed that unsolicited proposals should be examined cautiously, it was also said that such proposals should at least be considered, and the community should be informed about how the government is handling them.
REFORMING THE LEGISLATURE
1. On the Open Government Act initiative: Background was given on the initiative petition to apply the Open Government Act to the Legislature. It was during the 9th legislature that lawmakers voted to exempt themselves from the Open Government Act; this popular initiative is an effort to restore the OGA’s applicability to the Legislature.
Approximately 2500 signatures of registered voters were collected during the Open Government Act initiative drive last year – not enough to get on the ballot last year, but possibly enough to get on the ballot for the next general election. The signatures were submitted to the Attorney General’s Office on May 5, and the petition has since been revived to collect additional signatures in order to ensure the initiative’s placement on the ballot.
There is still a question about whether or not the initiative will be placed on the ballot at this year’s delegate election. The definition of “regular general election” needs to be clarified. If the initiative is certified, but not placed on the ballot this year, it will certainly be placed on the ballot for 2009.
Open Government Act petitions were passed around at the end of the evening. Volunteers were asked to collect signatures and submit by the end of the month.
2. House Legislative Initiative 16-7, which proposes to reduce the size of the Legislature and improve efficiency and accountability of the Legislative Bureau, was briefly discussed. Some participants asked, how much does each legislator actually cost taxpayers? It was said that this information should be made public, and might help to galvanize a grassroots movement for reform. It was said that the size of government should be proportionate to its citizenry, that government is too big in the CNMI, and that the CNMI needs a part-time legislature of qualified individuals. It was also noted that voters need more choices of candidates, since relatively few options mean that the same individuals are likely to be elected again and again. The number of candidates for the same number of offices has steadily decreased over the years. Participants were encouraged to call or write their legislators to urge them to pass this initiative and place it on the ballot at the next election. It was also suggested that the legislative initiative be turned into a popular initiative if the Legislature would not entertain the proposal.
THE NEXT FORUM
The next quarterly forum will be scheduled at the end of July. Participants suggested that the following topics be considered for discussion: healthcare in the CNMI; crime (in particular, rising sex crimes against children); and the solvency of the Retirement Fund. It was also suggested that public forums focused on CUC should be held on a more frequent (i.e., monthly) basis.
End.
This is to announce that the following legislative meetings will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, May 13:
1. House Committee on Health, Education, and Welfare @ 9am (apologies, I do not have an agenda for this meeting).
2. Presentation and discussion on House Bill 16-77, the CUC Private Sector Partnership Act of 2008 @ 10am in the House Chamber;
3. House Committee on Commerce and Tourism @ 1:30pm in the Speaker’s Conference Room to review the following bills:
This is to announce that there will be a public forum on the State of the Legislature on Wednesday, May 7 at the Multipurpose Center in Susupe, in the Annex, beginning at 6pm.
This forum is the first of what will be a series of quarterly forums over the next two years. The objectives of the State of the Legislature public forums are to provide the community with information on activities within the Legislature on an on-going basis, including bills introduced, voting records, and attendance records of members of the House and Senate; to share insights on the legislative process and how it can be improved; and to promote dialogue in the community on the issues of the day and proposed solutions. Comments, insights, and suggestions will be solicited from forum participants, documented, publicized through various media, and transmitted to elected officials. As with the public forums held last year, these State of the Legislature forums will be guided by ground rules. These ground rules include:
The following topics are proposed for discussion at this first public forum:
Other topics may be added if time is available.
The forum is free and open to the public. For more information, I can be reached at 664-8931 or 483-3935, or by email at tinasablan@gmail.com .
The House has called a special session for tomorrow, May 1 @ 9am in the House Chamber.
The draft agenda is attached here.
Not on the agenda but likely to be placed for tomorrow’s session is a substitute bill for House Bill 16-79, passed by the Senate today, which proposes to:
This is to announce that the House will resume its session today, April 25 @ 2pm in the House Chamber. A final agenda is not available yet, but we are likely to take up HB 16-90, which proposes to provide the governor and other expenditure authorities with unlimited reprogramming powers for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2008; to suspend earmarking of certain non-General Fund revenue; to authorize CUC to use a portion of customer security deposits to pay for fuel; to lower the government employer contribution rate from 18% to 11% and use 50% of the savings for a fuel subsidy for CUC; and to raise fees for certain government services by 100%.
As a result of the session schedule, the Saipan delegation PUTC committee meeting scheduled for today at 2pm has been postponed until next week.
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.
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