ATTORNEY General Edward Manibusan said it is his legal opinion that the tie-breaking rule of the House of Representatives “contravenes” the CNMI Constitution.
He said due to the importance of resolving the issue, a certified question petition to the local Supreme Court “is recourse that may be explored.”
The House minority bloc sought the AG’s opinion on the tie-breaking provision of the new House rules that was invoked by the House leadership in passing House Bill 22-33 last month.
The measure, which would require legislative appropriation for the $515 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds provided to the CNMI, “passed” the House after Speaker Edmund Villagomez voted twice to break the 10-10 tie.
The tie-breaking rule was among the provisions of the interim House rules that became permanent after they were utilized in two regular sessions and in voting on three measures, including H.B. 22-33, which the House minority opposed.
House Minority Leader Ivan Blanco said the constitutional mandate is “at least a majority of the votes cast” when making a final disposition on a bill.
Rep. John Paul Sablan, for his part, expressed concern about the withdrawal from the calendar of the House resolution that proposed new House rules, which included a three-fourths vote requirement.
He questioned the constitutionality of the tie-breaking rule, saying it violates the one-man-one-vote principle in the Legislature.
In his response to the minority bloc’s inquiry, AG Manibusan said: “It is my opinion that the tie-breaker rule in the House rules allowing the Speaker to vote twice in the event of a tie contravenes” the CNMI Constitution’s Article II Section 5(c) which states: “The legislature may not enact a law except by bill and no bill may be enacted without the approval of at least a majority of the votes cast in each house of legislature.”
The AG said under Section 5(c), “when the casting of votes on the motion to approve a bill fails to garner the minimum threshold of a ‘majority of votes cast,’ the motion is deemed disapproved and the bill does not move past the House floor to be transmitted to the Senate for its action.”
He said unlike the United States Senate and other jurisdictions, “there is no tie-breaker rule provided in [CNMI Constitution] Section 5(c) or anywhere else under the Constitution to get around the threshold of ‘majority of votes cast.’”
Edward Manibusan
