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Senate expands Rota, Tinian mayors’ powers
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Posted on Dec 07 2020
The Senate passed on first and final reading last week a bill that will give the mayors of Rota and Tinian authority to concur on all Office of Grants Management and State Clearinghouse applications, programs, and funding for the two senatorial districts.
All eight senators present—Senate President Victor B. Hocog (R-Rota), vice president Sen. Jude U. Hofschneider (R-Tinian), and Sens. Teresita A. Santos (Ind-Rota), Paul A. Sablan (Ind-Rota), Francisco M. Borja (R-Tinian), Francisco Q. Cruz (R-Tinian), Vinnie F. Sablan (Ind-Saipan), and Sixto K. Igisomar (R-Saipan)—passed Senate Bill No. 21-56.
Sen. Justo Quitugua (R-Saipan) was absent but excused from the session.
The bill will now go to the House of Representatives.
The bill is authored by Hofschneider, Cruz, Borja, and Santos.
The Office of Grants Management and State Clearinghouse was created to establish a database of federal grants being received by the CNMI. These OGM-SC mandates apply to Tinian and Rota as well.
Since its creation, the mayors of Tinian and Rota have submitted to OGM-SC several requests for assistance, funding, equipment and training for their municipalities and employees, the senators said.
The senators said the OGM-SC has indeed provided such assistance to Tinian and Rota, but the equipment, programs, funding or recipients of such benefits were not always consistent with the mayor’s policies. They said the mayor should determine what OGM-SC assistance is needed and where such assistance will go.
