The House did not act on Senate Bill 17-43 which was supported by Commonwealth Retirement Association president Juan Sablan, retiree Roman Tudela, attorneys Robert O’ Connor and Ramon Quichocho.
Retirement Fund Administrator Richard Villagomez, Commonwealth Development Authority development corporation division manager Oscar Camacho, attorneys Joseph N. Camacho and Robert T. Torres opposed it.
Introduced by Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan, and Sen. Jovita M. Taimanao, Ind.-Rota, S.B. 17-43 allows Retirement Fund beneficiaries to maintain causes of action on behalf of their trusts and retirement funds when the trustees refuse to bring such actions.
Under the bill, the right to sue on behalf of the Fund — currently provided only to the board of trustees — is granted to any intended beneficiary of the Fund.
However, Fund beneficiaries may not maintain class action lawsuit. Instead, one or more beneficiaries may join together and sue for the benefit of the trust and Retirement Fund.
Villagomez, in his written testimony, said the bill is overly broad.
It violates the Constitution’s separation of powers and contract clause, he added, and is adverse to the interest of the Fund and any party that enters into a contract with the Fund.
But O’Connor, in his written comment, said the bill is not overbroad, it does not violate the CNMI Constitution’s separation of powers or contract clauses, and is in the public interest because it allows retirees to protect their retirement funds when the Retirement Fund will not.
The Retirement Fund, he added, has lost over $150 million through bad investments and bad investment advice in the last several years.
He said one needs to ask “why would the Fund’s directors who have a fiduciary responsibility to the retirees to recover these lost monies but refuse to take action to do so, oppose a bill which would allow the retirees to protect themselves and recover these monies?”
