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Rep. Babauta seeks retreat for House members before sine die
9 House members no longer coming in the 23rd House
Sheila J. Babauta
Rep. Sheila J. Babauta (D-Saipan), one of the nine members in the 22nd House of the Representatives who will not be coming in the next House, has recommended holding a retreat as they are enter the final month of their term.
Speaking at a House session last week, Babauta said the 22nd House is coming to a close just as a new administration is ascending into the Executive Branch.
“We’re turning a chapter. I think [for] nine of us, it will be our final month in the House,” she said.
Babauta did not seek re-election last Nov. 8.
“We never had our retreat, which was something that I recommended at the beginning of our term. If you remember. colleagues, that we’ve never gotten together,” the lawmaker said.
She said they’re going to have their sine die, or final session, which is probably one event that they are all required to attend.
Babuta asked House Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) to consider setting a date for their retreat.
“Can we invite our families? …It [will] almost be similar to the swearing in when we had that people come up and it’s our final time,” she said.
The lawmaker said the sine die is going to be a great final session. “I just want to prepare for that as much as possible because it’s really been an honor serving in this 22nd Legislature,”Babauta said.
Aside from Babauta, the others who will no longer be members of the incoming 23rd House are Reps. Angel A. Demapan (R-Saipan), Richard T. Lizama (D-Saipan), Joseph Lee Pan T. Guerrero (R-Saipan), Christina E. Sablan (D-Saipan), Leila F. Staffler (D-Saipan), Celina R. Babauta (D-Saipan), Corina L. Magofna (Ind-Saipan), and Donald M. Manglona (Ind-Rota).
Demapan was unsuccessful in his bid for a Saipan Senate seat. Lizama and Guerrero were defeated by Ramon Blas Camacho in the Saipan mayoral race. Sablan and Staffler were defeated in the gubernatorial election.
Celina Babauta, Magofna, and Manglona will be going to the Senate.
Speaker Villagomez said he is looking at Jan. 3 as the last session to close business.
Rep. Vicente Camacho (D-Saipan) asked the Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee chaired by Rep. R. Celina Babauta (D-Saipan) if she would put out as many of the bills that are in her committee before the January sine die.
