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Jan. 6: Start date for reapportionment plan
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Posted on Jan 31 2012
While Gov. Benigno R. Fitial and lawmakers now agree to a Jan. 6 start of the 120-day timeline for coming up with a reapportionment/redistricting plan instead of Aug. 24, they still want to wait for the attorney general’s opinion on the matter.
During Friday’s closed-door meeting between the governor and lawmakers, the governor indicated that he has no problem identifying Jan. 6 as the start of the 120-day period for the Legislature to come up with its plan, said press secretary Angel Demapan yesterday.
But Demapan said should the attorney general’s opinion conclude that the 120-day period started on Aug. 24—which would mean the Legislature lost its chance to come up with a reapportionment/redistricting plan—the Fitial administration would listen to lawmakers’ concerns and recommendations.
Rep. Joseph Palacios (R-Saipan), author of a pending initiative seeking to reduce the number of Saipan lawmakers in the House from 18 to nine, said yesterday he’s looking forward to the AG’s opinion, expected to be issued this week.
If both the Legislature and the governor fail to come up with their reapportionment/ redistricting plan as required by the Constitution after release of census results every 10 years, then any register voter could petition the court to do so.
Some House members cautioned their colleagues and the governor against jumping to conclusion that a 22.7-percent decrease in Saipan’s population is the only basis for cutting the number of House members.
Palacios’s initiative is now under review by the Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations.
