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House extends from 90 to 135 days time to fill govt vacancies
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Posted on Jan 28 2012
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Reporter
The House of Representatives passed a bill that will give government agencies up to 135 days instead of only 90 days to fill job vacancies, before these unfilled posts are eliminated to help reduce the size of government.
By a vote of 17-0, the House passed Rep. Ralph Demapan’s (Cov-Saipan) House Bill 17-261 on Thursday.
The bill, which now goes to the Senate, amends the fiscal year 2012 budget law or Public Law 17-55 to extend by 45 days the current 90-day limit.
That law eliminates all vacancies that are not filled within 90 days of the enactment of the budget law, with the exception of the Public School System, Northern Marianas College and the Department of Public Safety. The intent is to cut government size.
But Demapan said there are many positions that are vital to government revenue-generating operations that must be filled, beyond the 90-day limit.
“While departments and agencies have been working diligently to fill the vacancies, the time frame to announce the positions, gather the eligibility list, interview qualified candidates, and select the most qualified candidate requires more time beyond the time limits set by Public Law 17-55,” he said in his bill.
The House also adopted by a vote of 19-0 a resolution amending its Official Rules of Procedure to require that all bills and resolutions have clearly written titles, and to require the review for legal sufficiency on all initiatives, bills, resolutions and floor amendments.
They also adopted a resolution recognizing Vito Kisa Calvo for designing the CNMI’s original flag.
