CNMI one of 10 remaining US jurisdictions still with appointed AG

The CNMI is one of only 10 remaining U.S. jurisdictions that still have an appointed attorney general, according to a report prepared by the House Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations which is recommending passage of an initiative authorizing the election of an attorney general in the CNMI.

While the JGO Committee recommends passage of the elected AG initiative, it has offered a new draft that has mostly technical amendments and proposes to lower the annual salary cap from $150,000 to $80,000.

Committee data shows that 45 of 55 U.S. states and territories, including Guam, now have elected AGs.

But the CNMI is among the remaining 10 jurisdictions still with appointed AGs, along with Alaska, American Samoa, District of Columbia, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Hawaii, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Wyoming.

The JGO Committee, chaired by Rep. Ralph Demapan (Cov-Saipan), said as chief legal officer, the AG should be free of any political influence.

It said a politically appointed attorney general serves at the pleasure of the governor and may be removed by the governor with or without cause.

“The Committee therefore finds that in order to improve accountability, allow the attorney general to function independently, and to ensure the enforcement of Commonwealth laws, the attorney general should be an elected position, rather than appointed by the governor,” the committee said.

The panel recommends passage of House Legislative Initiative 17-2, House Draft 2 in the form of House Draft 3.

The committee said while enactment of this initiative will result in additional costs to the CNMI government because of its placement on the ballot for voter ratification in the next general election, “the benefits of having an independent and accountable attorney general far outweigh such costs that may arise.”

Rep. Frank Dela Cruz (R-Saipan), author of the initiative, said yesterday he’s glad that the JGO Committee has already come up with a report on HLI 17-2, and hopes that it will soon pass the House and Senate, to be ratified by voters in the next general election.

“A lot of questions have been raised about the salary. The governor is making $70,000 a year. Judges and justices receive over $100,000 a year, even the executive director of CUC receives way over $100,000 a year. Here we are talking about the highest legal authority in the CNMI, and we’re offering $80,000. I am amenable to such salary but in the future I hope we can change that,” Dela Cruz told Saipan Tribune.

Under the initiative, while the AG’s salary cap is $80,000 a year, that amount can be changed by the Legislature upon the recommendation of the advisory commission on compensation provided for by Article II Section 10. The AG’s salary, however, may not be changed during a term of office.

Dela Cruz also said it’s “about time we have an attorney general who will also work on recovery of money as identified by the Office of the Public Auditor.”

“We lost so much money that could have been recovered by the CNMI government but because of statute of limitation, we couldn’t recover them anymore. It’s about time we get somebody in there serious about recovery of money,” he said.

Dela Cruz was referring to the $6.3 million that OPA had identified as potentially recoverable government money that includes unpaid rentals of land leases, overpayments in professional service contracts, and improper spending of public funds.

The NMI Constitution requires that the governor appoint an attorney general with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Dela Cruz’s initiative will amend Article III Section 11 of the NMI Constitution to authorize the election of an AG.

HLI 17-2 was already headed for the Commonwealth Election Commission to be placed on the ballot after it passed the House and later on the Senate in March this year.

However, the House recalled the initiative to clarify discrepancies in the proposed salary.

Dela Cruz’s original initiative proposed a $150,000 annual salary for the elected AG, but what was transmitted to the Senate only reflected a salary of $80,000 which Dela Cruz said won’t be attractive to prospective candidates.

Now the JGO Committee’s proposal is to maintain the salary cap at $80,000 a year, which Dela Cruz said he doesn’t mind being passed at the committee’s proposed form hoping that it would be raised later on.

Under the proposed latest draft of the initiative, the elected AG would have a term of four years. All elections for AG shall coincide with mid-term elections. It allows for a runoff election if no candidate received more than half of the total votes cast.