House passes bill to create non-partisan civil service system
- Details
- Published on Monday, August 06, 2012 00:00
- Written by By Emmanuel T. Erediano - Reporter
- Hits: 725
By a vote of 16 to 0, Senate Bill 17-62, which now heads to the governor, finally passed the House which sat on it more than one year.
The Senate passed the measure unanimously on June 30 last year.
Vice Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan; Reps. Ramon S. Basa, Covenant-Saipan and Froilan C. Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, were absent during Friday’s session while Rep. Raymond D. Palacios, Covenant-Saipan was not in the chamber during the roll-call vote.
Introduced by Senate Vice President Jude U. Hofschneider, R-Tinian, returns the Office of Personnel Management to Civil Service Commission by repealing Public Law 13-1 which was enacted during the administration of Gov. Juan N. Babauta.
S.B. 17-62 aims to establish a personnel administration system “based on merit principles and generally accepted methods governing the classification of positions and employment, conduct, movement, and separation of public officials and employees.”
The bill stated that placing OPM within the Civil Service Commission would reestablish a non-partisan and independent civil service system as required by Article 20 of the CNMI Constitution.
It added that “exemptions from the Civil Service system are being abused and civil service employees are being hired as excepted service employees, circumventing position requirements and salary limits.”
The goal of S.B. 17-62 is to select and retain the best qualified civil servants on merit, free from coercion, discrimination, reprisal or political influence.
In an interview after the session, Speaker Eli D. Cabrera, R-Saipan, said: “Let’s remove politics from the hiring process. Hire people based on merits. And in case of removal, the civil service that has to deal with it.”
Rep. Ray N. Yumul, R-Saipan, said OPM needs to be under Civil Service Commission. He said the commission was created to ensure that civil servants are “immune” to political interference or coercion.
Employees are the backbone of the government, and their hiring process should not be political, he added.
He noted that OPM is heavily under the influence of the governor.
Although civil service commissioners are appointed by the governor, Yumul said the Senate has to confirm their nominations. Moreover, the commission has to follow rules and standards, he added.
More Local News
- Comet hunting on Saipan
- DPW defends landfill contract with Tangs Corp.
- IT&E employees, families clean up Beach Road pathway
- Critters and worms – snacks to go
- Rota resident says water outages bad for business
- Concerned citizen opposes electronic gambling
- Cancer group to hold series of events for Survivors Day
- Rotarians urged to raise funds for possible relocation of Micro Beach playground
- Humanities Council invites community to book launching, upcoming programs
- Jury trial of Tinian Dynasty Hotel, officials to start in July
- NMC Class of 2013 picks Galvin Deleon Guerrero as keynote speaker
- Judge Manglona orders fugitive businessman to appear in court
- Jury trial in sex-trafficking case starts
- Inos OKs $60K for Rota
- Trustee: Bond may be a partial solution
- Vicente Norita gets 3 years for theft, burglary
- House supports extension of transition period
- Maryann Lizama to be acting CPA executive director
- Cruz questions NMI bar’s evaluation
Comments
Hey, how about House Bill 17-234, a bill that provides protection to every house hold members who are looking for jobs. Our people are tired of being misrepresented when they are looking for jobs. Or do you see this as the least important.