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House OKs transfer of Workers Compensation from Fund to Commerce
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Posted on Dec 20 2011
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Reporter
By a vote of 20-0, the House of Representatives passed yesterday a bill transferring the administrative functions of the Workers Compensation Commission from the NMI Retirement Fund board of trustees to the Department of Commerce secretary.
The bill says transferring the administrative functions of WCC to Commerce is appropriate, because Commerce is a permitting and enforcement agency, to ensure compliance with the Workers’ Compensation Law.
House Bill 17-14, House Draft 3 now goes to the Senate. The bill was introduced by Rep. Edmund Villagomez (Cov-Saipan) who, along with Rep. Teresita Santos (Ind-Rota), made floor amendments yesterday.
By a vote of 19-1, the House passed Rep. Trenton Conner’s (R-Tinian) HB 17-196, which seeks to preserve and designate 2 hectares of public land on Tinian for the future site of a Tinian Veterans Cemetery. Only Rep. Froilan Tenorio (Cov-Saipan) voted “no” to the bill.
The House also passed Rep. Ray Tebuteb’s (R-Saipan) HB 17-132, requiring vehicles hauling trailers or similar cargo to have red taillights for road safety. The bill passed by a vote of 20-0.
Also passed on a 20-0 vote was HB 17-232, permitting private employers to exercise a voluntary veterans’ preference in employment.
The House also reconsidered its passage during a previous session of Senate Legislative Initiative 17-12, which authorizes the Northern Marianas College Board of Regents to revise its mission statement, because of constitutional issues.
House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan) referred the initiative back to the Education Committee.
The House also House rejected by a 20-0 vote the latest Senate amendment to Rep. Stanley Torres’ (Ind-Saipan) bill seeking to expunge criminal records after at least five years for felony convictions and after three years for misdemeanor, among other things.
The speaker formed a conference committee that will work with their Senate counterparts to come up with a version that’s acceptable to conferees from both houses.
