Senate overrides governor veto on 3 bills

Three legislative measures will automatically become public laws after the Senate yesterday overturned the governor’s veto on three bills which the House of Representatives also nullified earlier this week.

In overriding Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio’s rejection of the proposed measures, both houses of the 12th CNMI Legislature underscored the need to implement Senate Bills 11-464 and 11-148 and House Bill 11-493 which were all introduced and passed during the previous legislative leadership.

With the executive’s rejection having been invalidated, all three bills automatically become public law even without the signature of Mr. Tenorio.

Senate President Paul Manglona said the override would require an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the Senate. All three vetoes were overruled unanimously without floor deliberations.

The Legislature overrode the governor’s veto on Senate Bill 11-464 which seeks to establish funding for Youth and Manamko programs and activities.

Senate Bill 11-48 requires the private sector and the CNMI government to pay for their non-resident workers’ medical insurance. At present, the only medical insurance subsidized by the state is the Government Health Insurance Program under the Retirement Fund.

Under existing policies, government employees have the option to enroll under GHIP or other private insurance. If they chose to enroll in a private insurance company, they will have to pay the full premium.

Mr. Tenorio rejected Senate Bill 11-148 because, he said, it would constitute unfair approach since it requires the government to cover embalming and transportation costs of a deceased nonresident employee, a benefit not provided to local workers.

Instead, he suggested that a legislation mandating all contracts for non-resident workers employed in the government be enrolled at either GHIP or other private insurance companies.

At the same time, the Legislature overturned the governor’s veto on House Bill 11-493 despite Mr. Tenorio’s contention that the proposed measure favors a particular business sector, while also providing preferential treatment to one Senatorial District over the others.

Telecommunications company that will install relay equipment in Rota, under the provisions of House Bill 11-493, will be exempt from paying excise taxes for a six-month period.

The legislation was expected to stimulate the Commonwealth’s somber economy by encouraging telecommunications company to set up relay equipment in the island of Rota through tax breaks.