If that’s not possible, then he supports reducing the number of Senate and House seats to reduce the cost of running the CNMI government.
He told reporters yesterday that the Covenant has to be amended by the U.S. Congress to transform the CNMI Legislature into a unicameral body.
He recalled that during the Trust Territory era, the NMI had a unicameral legislature.
During those days, the governor added, “we did not have much problems.”
According to the governor, his administration is now seriously looking at the possibility of laying off personnel as a way of reducing the cost of government.
“Streamlining is synonymous with cutting. How can you streamline something if you don’t cut?” he asked.
Except for Nebraska, all state legislatures are bicameral. Among the territories, only Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands have unicameral legislatures.
Asked if a unicameral legislature has disadvantages, Fitial replied: “As long as we enforce our laws effectively without any political influence, we are going to end up with a better government than we have now.”
He said when he attended the National Governors Association meeting last month, he found out that a lot of states have part-time legislatures.
