“But of course that is not what we are doing right now,” said Tenorio who recently stepped down from the speakership.
A former senator, Washington representative and governor, Tenorio said a part-time Legislature will not necessarily operate part-time.
But legislators will meet 90 days a year only although they will continue to work full-time.
Cabrera, R-Saipan, said the idea of having part-time legislators has been brought up numerous times in the past. He said he is going to support it.
Cabrera recalled that back in the 1970s when his father, Juan Leon Guerrero Cabrera, was a legislator, the Legislature worked part-time.
“If they did that back then, we can do that today,” Cabrera said, adding that being a part-time legislator does not mean less work.
The good thing about being a part-time legislator, he said, is that “you can really focus on what to do about a particular issue.”
A part-time legislator can do research for weeks and should be adequately prepared when session time comes, he added.
Currently, he said, lawmakers usually have to do their “homework” today for the session tomorrow.
“In a part-time Legislature, you know that there’s a session coming up in the next two months so you can prepare yourself every single day even at home. Even if you work with a private company you can still focus on the issue, so you are going to make yourself ready when the regular session comes,” Cabrera added.
Benavente, R-Saipan, does not believe that the Constitution already implies a part-time Legislature, but he supports a part-time Legislature.
The former speaker and lt. governor said if the state of Oregon, which has a much bigger population and government, can survive with a part-time legislature “why can’t we?”
He also noted that in Oregon, the part-time legislators are paid only for the time they actually meet.
During the first few years of the CNMI government, Benavente said the commonwealth needed a full-time Legislature because it had to create new laws.
“But after more than 30 years, I don’t think it is necessary to continue to have a full-time Legislature,” he said.
Benavente said a legislative initiative should be passed by lawmakers so that voters can decide on the part-time Legislature proposal.
He also wants the constitutional provision on the salary of lawmakers as well as the number of legislative seats changed.
Benavente said House seats can be reduced from 20 to 15.
