House, Senate to hold joint meeting to map out goals

The Senate and House of Representatives will hold a Jan. 12 joint leadership meeting wherein both camps are expected to identify priority bills and initiatives that need to be passed this year, including those seeking to help extend the NMI Retirement Fund’s lifespan and generate additional revenues.

House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan) and Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota) did not specify the items that will be discussed when they issued the joint one-page memo yesterday.

But Manglona, in a phone interview, said he expects that everyone from the House and Senate leadership will come to the meeting “with an open mind” and “would welcome compromise” so that important pieces of legislation “can move forward.”

Among the measures he hopes will be prioritized or passed by the House are those seeking to help the Retirement Fund, the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., those related to the land alienation provision of the NMI Constitution or Article 12, scholarship and adoption of a Senate joint resolution to accept the governor’s State of the Commonwealth Address in February, among other things.

“And I hope we will be able to set timelines. People would say ‘enough talking already’ and I agree. We need to act, for example, within 90 days after the joint leadership meeting,” Manglona told Saipan Tribune.

The joint leadership meeting will be on Thursday, Jan. 12, at 9:30am in the speaker’s conference room.

House floor leader George Camacho (Ind-Saipan) separately said yesterday that during the Jan. 12 meeting, he will ask the members “to continue working together and to work extra hard on revenue-generation.”

“We must prioritize legislation that will create revenue to help us provide greater public service and also save the Retirement Fund,” he said.

Some House members said the leadership might bring up the House casino bill that’s pending in the Senate, as one of those revenue-generating bills that they say will help restore the 80 hours biweekly among government employees, will help prolong the pension agency’s lifespan, and help grow the economy.

Sen. Ralph Torres (Ind-Saipan) said all he knows is that the joint leadership meeting will discuss Fund issues and revenue-generating bills.

Other lawmakers asked yesterday said they have yet to know the meeting’s agenda.