In an interview yesterday, Sen. Ralph DLG Torres, who chairs the committee, said he will write Gov. Benigno R. Fitial again to start appointing people to the board “so we can move forward.”
Torres wrote Fitial a letter a few months ago, asking for appointees to the board but the governor asked the Legislature to extend the deadline to Oct. 1 to coincide with the start of fiscal year 2012 when the government is expected to operate under a new budget.
The governor also asked the lawmakers to amend P.L. 16-51’s provisions regarding the qualifications of board members.
But Torres, R-Saipan, said they already passed Senate Bill 17-80 to address the governor’s concerns. The bill, he added, is now with the House of Representatives.
In a separate interview, Press Secretary Angel A. Demapan said the administration has taken the first step by identifying nominees.
But P.L. 16-51 must be amended, he added.
The existing law, he said, has made it difficult to find nominees.
According to Demapan, they have found a couple of individuals who meet the current qualifications but they are not willing to serve on the board.
Once the law is amended, Demapan said the administration will have a wider pool of nominees to the board.
