Senators agree to give CIP bill more study

The Senate called off a scheduled session yesterday following an agreement to further deliberate on pending legislation, including an urgent bill appropriating close to $23 million in capital improvement projects and a legislative initiative seeking a referendum on a five-year stay limit for foreign workers in the CNMI.

The session is expected to resume on March 16, according to Senate President Paul A. Manglona.

Legislative delegation from Rota and Tinian have been reviewing a revised plan on a House measure that sets in motion a massive infrastructure development on the island aimed at stirring the sluggish economy.

Lawmakers from Tinian are likely to propose funding into the long-delayed expansion of the airport on the island, altering the original plan to build a new fire and police station.

Rota, on the other hand, may also change the project listed in the bill, which will set aside funds for expansion of the health center to address other immediate needs of the island.

Senate Vice President Thomas P. Villagomez is also pushing for the allocation of funds to a road project in San Vicente instead of the construction of village youth centers on Saipan as initially proposed.

In an interview, he cautioned senators on the need to stick with the appropriation as provided under House Bill 11-380, which passed the lower house last month.

This represents the first batch of projects under a recently drafted CIP master plan outlining 50 priority projects on Saipan, Tinian and Rota, identifying some $11.46 million from local revenues to match an equal amount set aside by Washington under the Covenant.

“I am hoping that we all live within that allocation,” Villagomez explained. “If they go beyond that amount ($23 million), then they should come up with their own matching funds.”

House Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Karl T. Reyes earlier has warned the Senate against amending the bill he sponsored, saying it would alter the plan of the Tenorio administration to immediately tap the available funds in light of a move in the U.S. Congress to slash the amount by 51 percent.

The federal government has allotted about $77 million in 702 funding to the CNMI between 1996 to 2002, which the island government needs to match dollar-for-dollar before it can make use of the money.

Local officials are pinning their hopes on the CIP funds to spur the economy, but have found it difficult to meet the matching requirement due to shrinking government revenues.

The island is reeling from its worst crisis in years in the wake of the recession in Asia, its main tourism market.

Meanwhile, Villagomez vowed to push the legislative initiative he has proposed that will seek decision of the voters on a five-year stay limit for nonresident workers in the commonwealth.

Noting that a Senate bill imposing a three-year limit is pending before Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio, he said his proposal will not affect the provisions if and when it becomes a law.

The local chief executive’s authority to act on the measure expires on March 8, after which it automatically becomes a law. Business leaders have opposed the measure due to its negative impact on their companies.

“We don’t want to go into a session and pass the initiative, and then the administration would say that they would veto the bill and just let the people to decide,” Villagomez said.

“The three-year limit bill and the initiative are totally different from each other,” he added.