AS the author of Public Law 15-19, which provides for the inclusion of the Legislative Bureau under the Open Government Act, I take government transparency very seriously.
While it is true that the Legislature is exempt from the Open Government Act, the Department of Finance is not. All public fund accounts, including those of the members, fall under the department and are subject to public scrutiny. Therefore, anyone who wishes to review how a legislator is spending taxpayer dollars is free to make a request for that member’s account information under the Open Government Act.
Furthermore, there was never an attempt to circumvent accountability by exempting the Legislature from the Open Government Act.
Initially, Public Law 8-41 made the act specifically applicable to the Legislature. Public Law 9-2 repealed this portion of the act. It was felt that to protect individuals whom may be involved in a legislative investigation certain communications would need to be confidential. There are, however, constitutional provisions (Article II, Section 14 [b] and [c]) that require the Legislature to conduct open meetings and publish a public journal of all sessions, oversight hearings, etc.
Finally, reforms to the Open Government Act might be necessary as there is always room for improvement. However, I must respectfully disagree with the contention that by exempting the Legislature from the Open Government Act, we have absolved elected officials from being accountable to the public.

PETE P. REYES
Senate Vice President
15th CNMI Legislature