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Councils meet to impose power to enact local laws
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Posted on Jan 12 2001
The municipal councils of Tinian, Saipan and Rota are meeting for two days on Tinian to discuss the powers of the municipal councils to enact and appropriate local laws.
“The Governor’s veto message states that the municipal councils do not have any constitutional authority to make local laws,” said Juanita M. Mendiola, Chairperson of the Tinian Municipal Council. “However, I am of the opinion that position is not correct,” she added.
The Legislative Delegations of each respective senatorial district vests its legislative powers from Article VI of the CNMI Constitution.
This was necessary because under the pre-Commonwealth government, prior to 1978, the municipal councils were abolished. The people voted to bring the municipal councils back to life by way of Amendment 25 in 1985 through a Legislative Initiative.
According to Ms. Mendiola, Amendment 25 should have included specific provisions whereby the municipal councils were granted legislative authority to propose, amend and enact local laws ordinances; however, the specific language was never implemented and instead mentioned general powers.
House Bill 12-141, which would have granted the municipal councils more power was vetoed on Tuesday, November 21, 2000, by the Governor.
In his veto message, the Governor said, “In order to vest the municipal councils with the authority to make local laws and divest such authority from the local delegations, [Amendment 25] must be amended.”
Prominent local attorney and legal counsel to the Saipan & Northern Islands Municipal Council, David A. Wiseman, appeared as keynote speaker. In his address, Wiseman recommended that a certification process by the CNMI Supreme Court should be pursued.
“Although I agree that certification would be the most direct approach to clarify the issue, a popular initiative to bring the issue by vote of the people is also necessary,” said Ms. Mendiola.
