There are 20 members in the House of Representatives and nine senators. Each gets an annual salary of $39,300 and miscellaneous funds amounting to $85,000.
Lawmakers are entitled to get up to $155,000 in miscellaneous funds which are used for hiring personnel, providing services to constituents and running their offices.
But due to the worsening economy, this funding has been slashed over the years.
Babauta, the secretary of the Department of Public Lands, said he’s always been in support of the idea of having a part-time Legislature, but somehow every time such a proposal was introduced, it was killed even before it reached the floor for a vote.
“I welcome the idea of having a part-time Legislature. I think it’s about time that we take a look at our economic situation that now requires a lower operational cost for the legislative branch. Again, this is my personal opinion as a former speaker of the House,” he told the Variety.
The former speaker said part-time lawmakers can work in either the public or private sectors.
This should give them a more in-depth perspective on what the community needs from its government, he added.
“By spending less time outside of the legislative hall, I think that would give members more opportunity to get ideas (about the community),” said Babauta who represented Saipan’s Precinct 2 in the House from Jan. 1994 to Jan. 2010.
Before becoming a politician, Babauta worked for three years as legislative staffer.
Until 2007, Saipan had 16 House members but the Supreme Court increased it to 18 based on the 2000 Census results.
Babauta said this issue should also be revisited especially now that the population has significantly dropped.
“I think it’s about time now for the commonwealth to reflect and seriously consider other avenues that would reduce the operation cost of our government,” he said.
