Posted via email from Tina Sablan

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:

• February 24, 6:00pm – Tinian Court House, Tinian
• February 26, 6:00pm — Rota Court House, Rota
• March 3, 6:30pm — GTC Elementary School, San Roque
• March 4, 6:30pm — Kagman Community Center, Kagman
• March 5, 6:30pm — Multipurpose Center, Susupe 

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:

• Monday, February 23 @ the Multipurpose Center in Susupe, Saipan, beginning at 7pm;
• Tuesday, February 24 @ Tinian Elementary School Cafeteria, San Jose Village, Tinian, beginning at 7pm;
• With an open-house information session beginning at 5pm on both 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

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.

• Joint Confirmation Hearing for Public Auditor Appointee, Mr. Michael Pai — today, Wednesday, October 15 @ 10am in the House Chamber.  Acting Attorney General Mr. Gregory Baka, Secretary of Finance Mr. Eloy Inos, CNMI Board of Accountancy Chair Mr. Dave Burger, Saipan Chamber of Commerce President Mr. Jim Arenovski,  and Ernst and Young Senior Manager Ms. Nhing Reyes have been invited as witnesses.  The general public is also invited to submit oral and written testimony.
• Saipan and Northern Islands Health, Education, and Welfare Committee –  today, Wednesday, October 15 @ 1:30pm in the House Chamber
• House Standing Committee on Health, Education, and Welfare — today, Wednesday, October 15, @ 2pm in the House Chamber
• House Standing Committee on Federal and Foreign Relations — tomorrow, Thursday, October 16 @ 9:30am in the Speaker’s Conference Room.
• House Session — tomorrow, Thursday, October 16 @ 1:30pm in the House Chamber (draft agenda)
• Senate Session — Friday, October 17 @ 10am in the Senate Chamber (draft agenda)

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.

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

House Agenda

Senate Agenda

Also, at 1pm today, Thursday, May 22 in the Senate chamber, Senate and House members will be meeting with Mr. William Aila, a harbor master from Hawaii (Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation, Department of Lands and Natural Resources) and Hawaiian indigenous rights advocate, who sits on the management council for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands national marine monument (Papahanaumokuakea). 

Mr. Aila will be discussing his experiences and observations with the national monument negotiation process in Hawaii, and answering questions from the members.  Representatives of the Pew Environment Group will also be participating in this meeting. 

 Click here for the Agenda.

• House Attendance April – July 2008.xls
• House Attendance Jan-Mar 2008.xls
• Senate Attendance Records, 05.07.08.xls

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

• Everyone has a right to speak.
• Put the Commonwealth first. 
• Come to the forums as a member of the community. 
• Be honest and direct.
• Be respectful and professional, and stick to the issues.
• Assume nothing, question everything.
• Respect time limits (set at three minutes per person for this forum)
• Expect, and welcome, criticism.

PURPOSE OF THE FORUMS

• To provide on-going updates on a quarterly basis of activities within the Legislature;
• To share information and insights on the legislative process;
• To promote dialogue in the community on key issues facing the Commonwealth, and identify solutions.  Information and insights gathered during the forums will be transmitted to the media and to elected officials. 

CUC & THE ENERGY CRISIS 

1.  Updates were provided on:

• House Bill 16-77, the “CUC Private Sector Partnership Act of 2008,” which would establish guidelines for various models of public-private sector partnership, including performance management contracts, full privatization, Build-Operate-Transfer contracts, etc.  The bill still sits in the House PUTC Committee; no public hearings have been scheduled yet.  Public pressure and support for the bill can help get the bill moving through the legislature. 

• Long-term energy planning initiative by Saipan delegation PUTC committee – meetings scheduled with USEPA and other local government officials the week of May 12 to identify funding and technical assistance needs to develop a long-term energy plan.
• PL 16-2, which gives the governor unlimited reprogramming authority, provides funding for fuel and for the General Fund from certain earmarked funds (i.e., the Solid Waste Revolving Fund and others), Retirement Fund, CUC customer security deposits, increased banking taxes, and doubled government fees, etc. The new law also allows for the Public Utilities Commission to do business with a “quorum” of one.

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 9^th 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 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:

• Everyone has the right to speak.
• Put the Commonwealth first. 
• Come to the forums as a member of the community, nothing more and nothing less. 
• Be honest and direct.
• Be respectful and professional, and stick to the issues.
• Assume nothing, question everything.
• Respect time limits.
• Expect, and welcome, criticism.

The following topics are proposed for discussion at this first public forum: 

1. Solving the Commonwealth’s energy crisis;
2. Improving transparency in the Legislature;
3. Downsizing the Legislature. 

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 . 

 Click here for the Senate’s draft agenda.

Click here for the House draft agenda.

Also, the House Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee will be meeting on Monday, March 10 at 10:00am in the Speaker’s Conference Room.  The following bills and initiatives have been referred to this committee, and will be discussed at the meeting, along with comments that have been submitted thus far:
 
HOUSE BILLS

• HB 16-8: To amend 9 CMC Section 5657 regarding accessible parking for persons with disabilities
• HB 16-9: To establish a public corporation for hospital services known as the Commonwealth Hospital Corporation;
• HB 16-11: To amend the Safe Diving Act of 1990, to allow the Department of Public Safety enforcement authority and strengthen enforcement;
• HB 16-13: To prohibit the cruel treatment and theft of animals, and to provide penalties;
• HB 16-17: To repeal 8 CMC Sections 1723 and 1741 to require the transfer of pertinent documents from the Clerk of Court to the Health and Vital Statistics Office
• HB 16-25:To require the advice and consent of the Senate for appointees to the Medical Professional Licensing Board

HOUSE LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES

• HLI 16-1:  To amend Article VI of the Constitution to establish a commission on the judiciary and to establish that written opinions and decisions of the Superior and Supreme Courts be issued within one year of submission of the case for opinion or decision
• HLI 16-2: To amend Article III, Section 11 of the Constitution to authorize the election of the Attorney General

The chair of the Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee is Rep. Rosemond Santos.  Her office may be reached at 664-8965 for more information, or to submit comments. 

House Weekly Schedule for Regular Committee Meetings

1. House Committee on Commerce and Tourism
   • Today, Monday, February 25 @ 1:30pm in the Speaker’s Conference Room, to discuss House Bill 16-4, to amend Public Law 12-61 governing the deposit security required of CNMI government funds; and
   • Tuesday, February 26, @ 2:00pm, in the House Chamber, with the Marianas Visitors Authority to discuss MVA operations and other issues.
2. House Committee on Judicial and Governmental Operations
   • Wednesday, February 27, @ 9am in the House Chamber, with Deputy Secretary of Labor Cinta Kaipat, to discuss the newly promulgated regulations of Public Law 15-108 (the new local labor law).
3. Senate Committee on Fiscal Affairs
   • Tuesday, February 26, @ 2:00pm, in the Senate Chamber, to hold budget hearings with the following agencies: Commonwealth Utilities Corporation; Commonwealth Development Authority; Commonwealth Ports Authority; CNMI Group Health and Life Insurance Trust Fund; Northern Marianas Housing Corporation; the Department of Commerce; the Marianas Public Lands Trust; Department of Public Lands; and the Retirement Fund.

Also, both the House and Senate will be conducting sessions in their respective chambers this Thursday, February 28.  The House will be convening at 9am in the House Chamber; the Senate will meet at 10am.  Agendas will be sent out shortly.
 
As a reminder, while we continue to hope that a fully functional and updated official website for the Legislature will be up and running soon — all introduced bills of the 16th Legislature are available at the House Floor Leader Joseph Camacho’s website, www.camachocnmi.com and all email announcements that I have sent out thus far are available at www.tinasablan.com/forum .   

 Click Links Below for:

• Agenda Page 1
• Agenda Page 2
• Agenda Page 3
• Agenda Page 4
• Agenda Page 5

• House Committee on Commerce and Tourism, 10am, in the Speaker’s Conference Room — to meet with the Dept. of Commerce to receive a briefing on the agency’s structure and operations, and to review the agency’s budget request
• House Ways and Means, 1:15pm, in the House Chamber — to discuss the budget
• Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee, 1:30pm, in the Senate — to discuss the budget