House still looking into nonresident bill

The 14th House of Representatives is still closely reviewing the proposed Alien Workers Act of 2004 to fine-tune several aspects of the bill based on recommendations and comments.

According to House spokesman Charles Reyes, Rep. Ray Yumul is still working on the bill, especially after receiving recommendation to create a task force that would review the measure carefully.

Yumul earlier said all comments received are being considered in drafting a more thorough and accurate nonresident labor law, which would affect at least 30,000 alien workers in the Commonwealth.

The congressman is optimistic that a compromise could be reached so that a policy change relating to the nonresident workforce in the CNMI could be carried out in the near future. He also approved the creation of the task force.

The task force would look into the fiscal impact of the proposed Alien Workers Act of 2004, particularly its effect on the total revenue, tax contributions, and others. Also, it would review the comments submitted by different agencies.

The Attorney General’s Office, Department of Labor, Labor Ombudsman, and the Saipan Chamber of Commerce had all earlier agreed that a detailed fiscal impact study should be undertaken to look into the effects of the measure.

According to Attorney General Pamela Brown, her office is concerned about the fiscal effect that the significant changes contained within House Bill 14-142 will have on other government services, including labor, immigration, and criminal enforcement.

“As explained, the measure appears to increase the need for enforcement efforts, with an increase in the nonresident worker population, while simultaneously making certain enforcement actions more difficult,” Brown said.

She also urged the House of Representatives to consider these factors when evaluating the measure, and to refrain from adopting this and any other similar legislation before a detailed fiscal impact study is done.

The AGO proposed officers from the AGO; Labor, Commerce, and Finance departments; Legislature, and individuals with technical expertise should be included in the task force.

The bill seeks to amend chapters 4 through 8 of Division 4, Title 3 of the CNMI Code. The bill intends to provide stricter enforcement, control and regulation of alien workers.

Among others, it aims to require residents workers to be at least 10 percent of every employers’ management, supervisory, and nonsupervisory workforce, to be increased at least 2 percent annually. The move is to control the issuance of temporary work permits and to increase job referral services provided to residents.

Also, the bill hopes to prohibit the transfer of alien workers from one employer to another and to repatriate nonresident worker to the point of hire. “It is the intent of the Act to prohibit the alien worker from working for more than one employer,” reads the bill.

The measure also aims to lift the moratorium on the hiring of alien workers except in the garment industry and to prohibit transfer from one employer to another at any time. Upon termination, nonrenewal, or expiration of the employment contract, the alien worker shall exit the CNMI.