By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

THE Saipan and Northern Island legislative delegation, according to Rep. Candido B. Taman, can pass a local bill creating the neighborhood watch task force “established” by a municipal bill that became an “ordinance” when signed last month by Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela.
Taman, R-
Saipan, said in an interview yesterday that House members have no objections to the ordinance.
He said although there are already public laws providing security measures in the community, they see merit in the provisions of the ordinance.
He noted that the enforcement of curfew laws in the CNMI is “rather weak.”
A neighborhood watch task force, he added, can show our people how to help law enforcers deter criminal activities in their areas.
The House of Representatives recently adopted a resolution authorizing its legal counsel, Ian Catlett, to bring a certified legal question to the Supreme Court regarding the authority of the municipal council to pass bills.
Mayor Tudela signed the municipal bill on Feb. 15.
According to the resolution, the municipal council’s authority to assign duties to the mayor of Saipan and the public auditor is “unclear.”.
Taman said he knows that the high court will not respond immediately to the lawmakers’ request, but they will wait for it.
Taman earlier introduced House Legislative Initiative 15-15 — a proposed constitutional amendment to abolish the municipal councils which he says will allow the cash-strapped government to save at least $1 million a year.
He said his proposal does not ignore the council’s efforts “to do good things.”
The main intention of the legislative initiative, he said, is “to eliminate the duplication and overlapping of functions and expenses.”
Taman noted that his proposal will merely ask voters if they favor abolishing the municipal councils.