Moves on to repeal 3-year limit

Works are now underway in the upper house of the CNMI Legislature to repeal a current law that limits the stay of nonresident workers in the Commonwealth to three years, after which they will be barred from coming back until after six months.

In an interview with reporters yesterday, Senate Floorleader Pete P. Reyes said a proposal that seeks to eliminate the three-year limit has already been introduced and is currently sitting in the upper chamber for a deeper and thorough review.

Mr. Reyes said a public hearing will be scheduled to allow the Northern Marianas community to submit testimony on the proposal, in what he described as the proper way of getting the public’s pulse on a very important issue.

He stressed that the business community has consistently lobbied against the three-year limit, which was eventually signed into law by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio in March 1999, citing the measure’s possible adverse impact on the local economy in terms of business disruption.

Mr. Reyes acknowledges the business sector’s concerns, pointing out that nonresident workers have undeniably played a major part in the economic development of the Northern Marianas. “No one can deny that.”

While he maintained that the three-year limit was also recognized by the leadership of both houses of the Legislature, there was no option left for the CNMI government and the private sector but to choose between federalization of minimum wage and labor reforms.

According to Mr. Reyes, the Senate leadership is now waiting for the results of the Census 2000, carried out by the US government last year, to determine whether there was any decline in the overall number of nonresidents in the Commonwealth.

This, even as he mentioned that initial information revealed a significant drop on the nonresident population count on the island although the senator attributed the reduction on the ripple effect of the local economy’s slump since 1998.

Mr. Reyes also noted that some senators are concerned on the pending legislation, which seeks to repeal the three-year limit law, basically because of the absence of provisions that may determine how many years should nonresidents really stay in the CNMI.

He emphasized that the Commonwealth economy, at its present stage, is not yet ready to witness an exodus of skilled workers and professionals, noting the absence of enough local manpower to fill in the positions that may be left vacant by nonresident workers.

Senate Bill 11-71, which became Public Law 11-69 in March 1999, obligates nonresident workers to exit the Commonwealth after three consecutive years of stay in the islands before they are allowed to seek re-employment.

Government officials have been urging the business sector to start looking at the available local manpower to fill in vacancies in their companies to at least lessen the Commonwealth’s dependence on foreign workers.

The three-year limit applies to all nonresident workers in the CNMI, except for those holding professional or executive positions earning an annual salary of more than $30,000.

The law defined professional as those who are receiving more than $30, 000 in annual compensation; those who are in fields requiring advanced training or original or creative work which is artistic; those who are engaged in teaching, dental, medical, nursing and other medical professions

Under the law, a nonresident worker shall not be permitted to remain in the CNMI for more than three consecutive years without exiting the Commonwealth and remain off island until such time the worker has secured employment in the Northern Marianas.