By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

BY a vote of 7-2, the Senate also overrode Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s veto of a measure that caps the number of annual leave hours that government employees can be compensated for.
Except for Senate President Joseph M. Mendiola, Covenant-Tinian, and Sen. Luis Crisostimo, D-Saipan, the rest of the nine-member Senate voted for the enactment of House Bill 15-186 during their session on Tinian on Wednesday
The House earlier overrode the governor’s veto on April 18.
The Senate vote means that House Bill 15-186 is now law.
It was only the second time that the Legislature, which is dominated by Fitial’s Covenant Party, has overriden the governor’s veto.
Vice Speaker Justo S. Quitugua, D-Saipan, is the principal author of H.B. 15-186.
According to the bill, government employees with accumulated annual vacation leave in excess of 360 hours cannot convert it into cash anymore.
Instead, they will be allowed to convert it into sick leave which cannot be converted into cash.
Quitugua said the lump-sum payment of unused vacation leave is further burdening the financially troubled CNMI government.
But the governor believes that H.B. 15-186 would lead to more technical and financial problems for the government.
“First of all, this legislation created different conditions for excepted service employees and civil service employees. Second, it allows each branch of the government and the autonomous agencies to promulgate regulations to implement this measure, which creates more confusion and inconsistencies,” the governor said in his veto message.