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Elected officials can drive tinted cars
Acting governor Ralph DLG Torres has signed into law a bill that amends the Commonwealth Code to exempt the governor, lieutenant governor, and other elected officials from tinting prohibitions for vehicles used, owned, leased, or assigned to them.
The bill also exempts these elected officials from having government license plates on their vehicles.
Previously, only judges and law enforcers were exempted from the tinting prohibitions and plate requirements.
Senate Bill 19-28—authored by Sens. Francisco Cruz (R-Saipan) and Jude Hofschneider (R-Saipan)—is now Public Law 19-28. Torres signed the bill on Nov. 13.
The law states that it is necessary to protect elected official from being targeted by the disgruntled. The exemptions will ensure that elected officials cannot be easily attacked while traveling on the road or in parked vehicles, the law states.
“The crash of the Retirement Fund, casino matters, land compensation disputes, and increased criminal activities” can make officials a target, the bill states.
In a report in September, the House Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations said that elected officials can become the “focal point for all the negative outcomes” of issues in the Commonwealth. This can result in violence against them and their loved ones, the report states.
The committee also said that window tinting would “prolong the lifespan of the interior of the vehicle.” “The tint will provide for the protection from UV rays that may damage and deteriorate the interior of the vehicle,” the JGO committee said.
