Rep. Tina Sablan, Ind.-Saipan, is the principal author of House Bill 16-86 which will allow guest workers with at least five years of legal employment on the islands to apply for a five-year permit that entitles them to work and establish businesses here.
Sablan said this will liberalize the labor market and open up opportunities for the CNMI’s sluggish economy.
A public hearing on the bill will be held at 6 p.m. tonight in the House chamber and tomorrow on Tinian, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Tinian Junior/Senior High School.
Sablan said she can be reached at 664-8931 or 483-3935, or through e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] .
She said the enactment of the CNMI federalization law, or U.S. P.L. 110-229, does not render her bill moot.
“Federal regulations implementing the new immigration program are not expected to be promulgated until June 1, 2009, and possibly as late as Dec. 1, 2009,” she said. “At a minimum, the resident foreign national program proposed under H.B. 16-86 would help stabilize the commonwealth’s workforce in this period of uncertainty before the effective date of U.S. P.L. 110-229.”
She added that her proposed program could also be negotiated with federal agencies while the regulations for the U.S. administered CNMI immigration system are being drafted.
“At a recent House presentation on federalization, a number of lawmakers, including the speaker of the House and the Federal Relations chair, expressed their hope that the commonwealth government would have a seat at the table with federal officials during the development of the new immigration regulations, to ensure that the economic needs of the commonwealth are fully considered, including the need for a stable workforce,” she said.
Federal Labor Ombudsman Jim Benedetto, who is involved in the drafting of the new regulations, was present at the meeting, according to Sablan.
“Mr. Benedetto affirmed his support for the involvement of local government officials in the process of developing the regulations, and also said that it might be possible to accommodate the resident foreign national program in the commonwealth-only transitional guest worker program that is mandated under U.S. Public Law 110-229,” she said.
