FLASHBACK – December 12, 2011

AGO seeks changes on bill banning entry of toy guns[/B]

The Attorney General’s Office has raised potential constitutional challenge on a proposed law that will ban entry into the CNMI and sale of toy guns here, citing deficiencies and questionable provisions in the measure. HB 12-76, known as the “Toy Gun Control Act,” is under review by the House Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations chaired by Rep. Dino M. Jones. The legislation seeks to remove toy guns from store shelves and ban them here for good in an effort to protect children from harmful effects and prevent their use in criminal activities.

After six months of intensive preparation, Century Insurance Co., Ltd. recently became one of the few companies in Micronesia to attain ISO 9002 international quality certification. ISO, which stands for International Organization for Standardization, is an independent standards body based in Geneva, Switzerland with a membership of approximately 130 countries that agree on common standards of high quality. For Century Insurance, the goal of attaining ISO 9002 certification involved putting in place a quality management system adhering to the rigid requirements of ISO. It included developing a comprehensive quality policy concerned with total customer satisfaction.

MVA carves a niche in JATA Congress[/B]

The Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center, held from November 29 to December 1, came alive with travel marketers from around the globe, exposing their destination to more than 50,000 travel trade members and consumers. The bi-annual event allowed travel trade, media, and consumers to find out what’s new in their favorite destinations and to discover some new travel options as well. The Mariana Islands, already an extremely popular vacation choice for many Japanese consumers had a strong presence at the JATA. This year, the Marianas Visitors Authority and its members provided congress attendees with a new vision of the islands.

Contrary to earlier reports, the Senate’s Friday session on Tinian will not be a sine die-or last-session, as clarified by Senate President Paul A. Manglona. According to Manglona, he expects one more Senate session in January, before the inauguration of the new Legislature on January 14. “Actually, we’re going to probably have another session a week or so before the inauguration of the 13th Senate. So, we’re probably going to have two more sessions, including this coming Friday,” he said.

BoH donates $5K to NMC[/B]

Bank of Hawaii has renewed its commitment to the development and improvement of postsecondary and adult education in the CNMI with a $5,000 donation to the Northern Marianas College-the second time this year. In making this substantial donation, Bank of Hawaii joins the ranks of individuals and private businesses that have chosen to show their community support by contributing financial assistance to NMC, while earning an Education Tax Credit under Public Law 10-73. A long-time supporter of the college, Bank of Hawaii is the principal subsidiary of the Bank of Hawaii Corp., a regional financial services company with $14 billion assets as of year-end 2000. The Bank of Hawaii Corp. and its subsidiaries provide varied financial services to businesses, governments and consumers in Hawaii, West Pacific and American Samoa.

The two bills that put into effect the settlement terms on the over $103 million loan that the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. owes the Commonwealth Development Authority has now become law even without the signature of Gov. Juan N. Babauta. House Bills 13-106 and 13-107, which the Legislature transmitted to the Office of the Governor last October 31, automatically became laws after Babauta failed to act on both measures within the statutory deadline of 40 days. The deadline was last Nov. 9. Section 7(b), Article II of the CNMI Constitution states that the governor has 20 days to consider an appropriation bill and 40 days to consider other bills. If the governor fails either to sign or veto a bill within the applicable period, it shall become law.