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New law loosens rules to avail of agricultural homesteads on Pagan
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Posted on Feb 10 2021
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres has signed into law a bill that removes the requirement for persons to have lived in the Northern Islands in order to avail of agricultural homesteads lots that the Department of Public Lands has made available on Pagan.
Torres informed House Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) and Senate President Jude U. Hofschneider (R-Tinian) last Friday that he has enacted House Bill 21-43. The new law amends the eligibility requirement for people who wish to avail of DPL’s village and agricultural homesteading programs. The bill, which was passed by the House and the Senate of the 21st Legislature, now becomes Public Law 21-44.
Introduced by Rep. Joel C. Camacho (R-Saipan) in April 2019, the House passed the bill with amendments in August 2019. The Senate passed the bill with amendments in February 2020 and it was returned to the House. The House rejected the Senate amendments and the bill was sent to a bicameral conference committee. Both chambers adopted the bicameral conference committee’s report and the bill was passed on Dec. 22, 2020.
Under the act, a homestead applicant for Pagan must be registered to vote in the Northern Islands elections prior to applying and must either reside or have resided in the Northern Islands as indicated in a valid birth certificate or court document. Priority shall be granted to those born on or who are descendants of someone born in the Northern Islands.
In an earlier interview, Camacho said the conferees unanimously agreed to include the repeal and re-enact language to remove any perceptions of discrimination but yet prioritize those born in the Northern Islands or a descendant of such persons.
Camacho said that, by inserting the language, the applicant can still avail of such homestead if they were residents or residing in the Northern Islands or born in the Northern Islands or are descendants of such individuals.
He said even if an applicant does meet those requirements, he/she must be a registered voter in the Northern Islands elections prior to applying.
DPL Secretary Marianne Concepcion-Teregeyo informed the Legislature last December that DPL has made available 88 agricultural homestead lots on Pagan since 2017, but no one has been eligible because of the law’s one-year residency requirement.
