House overrides governor’s veto of land compensation bill

With a 17-0 vote, the House of Representatives on Friday overrode the governor’s veto of a bill authorizing the Department of Public Lands to pay land compensation judgments.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial vetoed House Bill 16-206 on Wednesday, saying it is unconstitutional.

He said there is nowhere in Article XI of the CNMI Constitution that mentions land compensation payments as one of the allowable expenses from moneys received from public lands. DPL’s duties are limited to funding itself and the Marianas Public Land Trust, he said.

But the 17 House members who were present at Friday’s session disagreed with the governor’s reason for vetoing the bill.

Absent during the session were Reps. Rosemond Santos, David Apatang, and Ed Salas.

Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider, co-sponsor of H.B. 16-206, said paying land compensation judgments is one of the “reasonably necessary” expenses for the accomplishment of DPL’s functions, also citing Article XI of the CNMI Constitution.

“I think it’s proper that the override went through. These are land compensations that have gone to court. And the court has decided that the CNMI owes these people for land taking. It is proper that we, through DPL, become responsible…Everybody enjoys the good road that went through private properties,” he said.

Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. said the administration is “surprised that the House was not persuaded by the clear and convincing constitutional argument the governor presented in his veto message to the Legislature.”

The Fitial administration hopes the Senate will be persuaded by the constitutional argument.

“The governor has sworn to uphold the Constitution and has done so by rejecting the bill. If the Legislature overrides the veto and passes the bill into law, the judicial branch could be asked to review whether the law is constitutional,” Reyes added.

DPL has been sued over land compensation payments.

One of the most recent court decisions in connection with land compensation payments is a Jan. 8 ruling by the CNMI Superior Court ordering DPL to pay $1.8 million to the heirs of Rita Rogolifoi as compensation for the family’s As Mahetog lands that were used by the government for public projects in 1976 and 1992.

“These people have been overlooked in the last $40 million land compensation and they’ve gotten frustrated and they took it court. The court said it’s the responsibility of the government to pay them. Why they were overlooked in spite of having gone through court is beyond me. Now DPL, because they have the responsibility over land exchanges, for instance, has the same responsibility and liability [to pay],” said Hofschneider.

H.B.16-206, offered by Hofschneider and Stanley T. Torres, authorizes DPL to pay for land compensation judgments using its operations fund bank accounts “in cases where land exchange is not a viable or desirable option.”

The bill goes to the Senate for action.

DPL Secretary John S. Del Rosario Jr. earlier wrote a letter to then acting Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez, asking him to veto the bill because it is unconstitutional.

Just like Del Rosario, Fitial cited the Constitution, which states that the Marianas Public Land Corp., now DPL, “shall receive all moneys from the public lands except those from lands in which freehold interest has been transferred to another agency of government and shall transfer these moneys after the end of the fiscal year to the Marianas Public Land Trust except that the corporation shall retain the amount necessary to meet reasonable expenses of administration and management, land surveying, homestead development, and any other expenses reasonably necessary for the accomplishment of its functions.”