Changes to retirement law vetoed

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has disapproved four bills recently passed by the Legislature, two of which had sought to amend retirement laws to give government employees and public servants additional service credits and to expand benefits granted to them.

The Senate, holding a session yesterday, attempted to override the veto on one of the retirement measures, but was defeated when it fell short by one vote on the required two-thirds vote by the nine-member chamber.

SB 12-51, sponsored by Sen. Joaquin G. Adriano, would have allowed government employees awaiting overdue pay hike under a nine-year old law to convert the salary adjustment to vesting credit service.

While backing efforts by lawmakers to resolve the long-standing problem on the retroactive pay raise, Mr. Tenorio stressed that the legislation is not the proper solution to respond to the employees’ dilemma.

He said that if he signed it into law, it would have impaired responsibilities of the NMI Retirement Fund Board and created funding and administrative problems for the agency.

The chief executive also noted that the bill is “silent” on how the government’s share of the contribution would be addressed, citing a questionable provision that would permit an employee to opt for early retirement.

Not mandatory

But Mr. Adriano maintained conversion of the retroactive pay would not be mandatory, but a choice to be made by the employee, thus the financial impact would not be huge for the NMIRF.

Under Public Law 7-31 enacted nine years ago, all employees who had reached the maximum salary level would have received a 14 percent across-the-board hike — benefits that have yet been granted due to failure to identify funding.

The government has estimated that nearly 2,000 employees are still waiting for their pay hike with money totaling to nearly $10 million.

Only five voted in favor of override — Mr. Adriano, Senate President Paul A. Manglona, Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes, Senators David M. Cing and Ricardo S. Atalig. Vice President Thomas P. Villagomez and Sen. Edward U. Maratita rejected the move, while Sen. Ramon S. Guerrero abstained from voting. Sen. Jose M. Dela Cruz was absent.

Mr. Villagomez defended his decision as he noted that while he was an original supporter of SB 12-51, he agreed with the governor that implementing such option could be burdensome for the government and disastrous for the NMIRF.

“This is a big decision whether to go ahead with a political move or be more responsible in terms of dealing with the financial condition of the Retirement Fund,” he told in an interview.

Additional benefits

Another legislation vetoed by Mr. Tenorio on Monday also concerned on the retirement of government employees. SB 12-40 sought to provide one year vested service credit for every two years of service by any person serving CNMI boards and commissions.

This would have expanded the benefits that are currently being granted to members of board and commission under existing law — a move that the governor said would adversely impact on the NMIRF and its financial stability.

“Unlike the current provision of the law, this bill lacks the specificity on how to determine the annuity level,” he explained in his veto message. “In addition, it does not identify the funding source for the proposed additional benefits.”

Mr. Tenorio also warned lawmakers that the bill would exert additional burden to the agency at a time when the government has been behind in remitting its share, an obligation which at present amounts to $32 million.

Aside from the two retirement bills, the governor also vetoed two others for constitutional violations — one, proposing to absolve the Director of Public Lands from any liability brought against the Board of Public Lands and the other, a local measure re-appropriating over $1 million for use by Mayor of Tinian and Aguigan for various programs in the island municipality.