With 19 lawmakers voting “yes” and only Saipan Republican Rep. Ray A. Tebuteb voting against it, House Bill 17-103 was passed and transmitted to the Senate.
The “exit poll” will be in a separate sheet of paper and will ask voters whether they “agree with the recommendation that the U.S. Congress consider permitting alien workers who have lawfully resided in the CNMI for a minimum of five years to apply for long-term status such as United States citizenship, permanent resident status, and freely associated state nonimmigrant status.”
The Commonwealth Election Commission, the bill stated, “shall post a sample of the exit poll survey in English, Chamorro and Carolinian.”
According to the bill, “Without consulting the governor, the report on the alien worker population in the CNMI by the Department of the Interior recommended to permit alien workers who have lawfully resided in the CNMI for a minimum of five years to apply for long-term status under the immigration and nationality laws of the United States.”
House Minority Leader Diego T. Benavente, R-Saipan, wanted this language struck out of the bill, saying it was slanted.
But Vice Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan, insisted on the importance of the language, saying the voters need to be fully informed about the issue.
Benavente’s proposal to delete the language was rejected as 12 members of the House leadership voted to retain it.
