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Certified questions on salary hike now with high court
Attorney General Edward Manibusan and Finance Secretary Larrisa Larson have jointly submitted certified questions with the CNMI Supreme Court over the issue of the salary increases that the Legislature had approved for some elected officials.
CNMI Supreme Court Associate Justice John A. Manglona accepted the certified questions on Friday.
The chief of the Office of the Attorney General Civil Division, Christopher M. Timmons, submitted the joint petition as counsel for Manibusan.
Lawyers Matthew T. Gregory and Kimberlyn King-Hinds signed the joint petition as counsels for Larson.
Manglona accepted the two following certified questions:
1. Did the presence of four sitting members of the Legislature on the advisory commission leading to the enactment of Public Law 19-83 violate Article II, Section II of the NMI Constitution? If so, did the illegal presence of the legislators on the advisory commission render the salaries for the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the Legislature in Public Law 19-83 unconstitutional?
2. Were the three salary increases (or any of them) for members of the Legislature unconstitutional because they exceeded the change in an accepted price index for the period since the last change, (or in the case of P.L. 4-32, was not based upon a price index at all); or alternatively, were the three salary increases (or any of them) unconstitutional because they exceeded the respective advisory commission’s salary recommendation?
In June, Superior Court Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja ruled that Manibusan has legal authority to sue Larson over the salary increases.
In November 2016, the Legislature passed Public Law 19-83, which instituted pay raises for civil service government employees, the governor, lieutenant governor, and members of the Legislature.
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres did not sign the legislation into law. Neither did he exercise his veto power. Instead, he allowed P.L.19-83 to lapse into law.
Naraja said Larson has a stake in this litigation by virtue of her role as the head of Finance.
Last Feb. 9, Manibusan filed the lawsuit against Larson, claiming that she should be stopped from implementing the pay raises provided in P.L. 19-83.
