Of 40 new laws, only 1 for revenue generation

 Despite many lawmakers’ yearlong pronouncements about doing everything to help revive the economy, only one of the 40 bills that became law in 2011 was actually aimed at revenue-generation, based on a Saipan Tribune review of government records.

That single revenue-generating law signed last year gives incentives to travel agencies for bringing in more tourists to the CNMI and charges passengers from non-U.S. destinations a new $15 fee that will be used to market the CNMI as a tourist destination and recover costs incurred for enforcement of customs and quarantine laws.

But even if Public Law 17-58 is already in place, its actual implementation has yet to take place due to the absence of program rules. PL 17-58 is just an amendment to PL 17-29 signed early last year, so these two are counted only as one revenue-generating measure.

Of 29 members of the House and Senate, 22 had at least one bill that was signed into public law last year. Most of the 29 lawmakers are facing re-election, should they choose to run again.

House floor leader George Camacho (Ind-Saipan), author of the bills that became the tourism incentive law, recognizes the difficulty of coming up with measures that are not only acceptable to most in the Legislature but also would really generate revenues without further hurting businesses and consumers.

Camacho said he’s glad that the Legislature passed at least one revenue-generating bill that became public law in a year. “I hope there will be more that will be passed this year,” he added.

But ordinary citizens are not amused by lawmakers’ inability to pass more than one bill that will generate additional revenues to help the CNMI economy grow.

“I’m so disappointed with these lawmakers,” said a 50-year-old Garapan resident yesterday. “For a full year, they said they’re going to do something but they have to act fast before we all die.”

The mother of four said that lawmakers always blame the economy for most of the problems in the CNMI, “but what have they been doing to help improve it? Any other solution other than casino? Prices keep on going up because there’s no price control here.”

For over a year now, many lawmakers have been talking about “doing something” for job creation, restoration of 80-hour work biweekly and increased funding for public health, safety, and education.

A review of data from the Legislative Bureau and the Executive Branch shows that Gov. Benigno R. Fitial and Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos, when he was acting governor, signed 40 public laws in 2011.

Public Laws 17-27 to 17-66 were signed between Jan. 27 and Dec. 20, 2011.

Public laws are different from local laws.

Lawmakers with most bills that became public laws

Rep. Stanley Torres (Ind-Saipan) and House floor leader Camacho introduced the most number of bills that became laws in 2011. Each of them had four bills that became law.

Torres said that having the most number of bills signed into law is not the only measure of an effective lawmaker, but said it shows that the measure is important enough to be supported by most members of the Legislature.

Torres, one of the longest serving lawmakers in the CNMI, said there should have been two other revenue-generating laws on the list had the Senate passed last year his House casino bill, along with a bill seeking to legalize marijuana for medicinal use. The House casino bill is still pending in the Senate.

The four bills he introduced became PLs 17-33, 17-34, 17-47 and 17-62. The latter allows the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. to borrow up to $10 million from the Rhode Island-based Independence Bank.

Camacho’s four bills, meanwhile, became PLs 17-29, 17-46, 17-58, and 17-64.

Besides the tourism incentive program measures, the two other bills were to modernize the NMI Retirement Fund’s investment program and clarify the definition of certain taxable commodities.

Rep. Teresita Santos (Ind-Rota), Rep. Joseph Palacios (R-Saipan), and House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan) each had three bills that became public laws in 2011.

Santos’ bills include two related to waiver of fees on homesteads and public lands, and one that designates a hectare of public land on Rota for the future site of a veterans’ cemetery. Santos also had the most number of local bills that became Tinian local laws.

Palacios said anybody can introduce a bill but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good measure. In the same breath, he said that some good bills don’t get passed because members do not want to lose votes in the next elections.

He said he’s glad that his colleagues passed three of his bills, two of which amend the sex offenders registration law and increase penalties for those illegally parking in spaces for people with disabilities.

Palacios also pointed out that good laws do not mean a thing if there is no proper and prompt implementation.

Cabrera’s three bills include amending the Marianas Visitors Authority board of directors composition to include a non-U.S. citizen appointee, allowing the Department of Public Works to continue hiring foreign engineers until 2015, and providing annuitants an option to continue their CNMI government life insurance coverage under the same group terms and conditions as that offered to government employees but on certain conditions.

Senate floor leader Pete Reyes (R-Saipan), Sen. Jovita Taimanao (Ind-Rota), Sen. Luis Crisostimo (Ind-Saipan), Rep. Sylvester Iguel (Cov-Saipan), Rep. Ray Tebuteb (R-Saipan), and Rep. Ray Yumul (R-Saipan) each had two bills that became public laws in 2011.

One of Reyes’ two bills is the NMI Retirement Fund beneficiary derivative lawsuit that both the House and Senate are now seeking to repeal.

Yumul said he’s grateful for the House and Senate members from both sides of aisle who supported his bills.

“I always believe that quality versus quantity in legislating is paramount. We can only do this by actively participating in session to deliberate each bill constructively that appears on our legislative agenda no matter who the author may be,” he said.

The 11 other lawmakers with one bill each that became public law in 2011 were former representative Diego Benavente, for the shark fin ban measure or PL 17-27; Rep. Edmund Villagomez (Cov-Saipan); Sen. Ralph Torres (R-Saipan); Sen. Juan Ayuyu (Ind-Rota); House Vice Speaker Felicidad Ogumoro (Cov-Saipan); Rep. Ralph Demapan (Cov-Saipan); Rep. Fred Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan); Rep. Ray Palacios (Cov-Saipan); Senate Vice President Jude Hofschneider (R-Tinian); Rep. Ray Basa (Cov-Saipan), for the fiscal year 2012 budget measure; and Sen. Frank Cruz (R-Tinian).

Among the seven who didn’t have bills that became law in 2011 were Rep. Froilan Tenorio (Cov-Saipan), Rep. Janet Maratita (Ind-Saipan), Rep. Trenton Conner (R-Tinian), House minority leader Joseph Deleon Guerrero (R-Saipan), Rep. Tony Sablan (R-Saipan), Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota), and Sen. Henry San Nicolas (Cov-Tinian).

Some of them, including Manglona, however, co-sponsored some bills that were enacted. Conner, meanwhile, had the most number of Tinian bills that became local laws.

Tenorio, in an interview, said his bills were blocked by the Senate, including the controversial revenue-generating measure that legalizes casino gambling on Saipan.

“I don’t care whether any of my bills would pass. Remember that the Senate is blocking all of my bills. If they see it’s from me, they block it. But even House members are not acting on my bills, including the important bills on labor, the repeal of the qualifying certificate program and the reduction in rebate. The last two are revenue-generating bills,” he said.

Tenorio, a former governor and former speaker, said “the less we legislate, the better,” referring to bills that result in additional expense for the government that are not necessarily for basic services such as public health, safety, and education.

He also said even members of the U.S. Congress that later became presidents or served as lawmakers for decades had zero or only a few bills that became laws.

Tenorio said when he was speaker, his job was to get other lawmakers’ important bills go through.