Nine members voted in favor of the resolution sponsored by Rep. Rosemond B. Santos, R-Saipan.
They are Reps. Diego T. Benavente, R-Saipan; Victor B. Hocog, Ind.-Rota; Edward T. Salas, R-Saipan; Ramon A. Tebuteb, R-Saipan; Raymond D. Palacios, Covenant-Saipan; Ray N. Yumul, R-Saipan; Joseph C. Reyes, R-Saipan; Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan; and Vice Speaker Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero, R-Saipan.
Voting “no” were Reps. Francisco S. Dela Cruz, Covenant-Saipan; Heinz S. Hofschneider, R-Saipan; Stanley T. Torres, R-Saipan; Tina Sablan, Ind.-Saipan; Edwin P. Aldan, Covenant-Tinian; David M. Apatang, R-Saipan; and House Minority Leader Oscar M. Babauta, Covenant-Saipan.
Reps. Ralph DLG. Torres, R-Saipan, Justo S. Quitugua, D-Saipan, and Santos were excused.
The last Constitutional Convention was held in 1995 and cost CNMI taxpayers about $1 million.
All of its proposed amendments failed to get the required number of votes for ratification.
The Nov. 4, 2008 U.S. congressional election is not considered a local general election.
In an earlier interview, Santos said because many legislative initiatives have been introduced in the House and the Senate, the CNMI should just hold a Constitutional Convention.
Santos noted that Article 18, Section 2 of the CNMI Constitution provides that the commonwealth “shall submit the question of calling a Constitutional Convention” to voters every 10 years.
The question has to be approved by at least two-thirds of the voters.
In the 2005 elections, 7,394 were in favor of a new convention, while 5,156 voted “no.”
The “yes” votes garnered 60 percent of the total, or 7 percent short of the two-thirds requirement.
When Santos introduced her resolution in April, at least 15 legislative initiatives have been introduced in the Legislature:
• H.L.I 16-1, the Judicial Branch Legislative Initiative Act of 2008, which seeks to amend Article 4 of the Constitution to establish a commission on the judiciary and to establish that written opinions and decisions of the CNMI Superior Court and Supreme Court be issued within one year of submission of the case for opinion or decision;
• H.L.I. 16-2 — to amend Article 3, Section 11 to authorize the election of an Attorney General with an independent office;
• H.L.I. 16-3 — to amend Sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 of Article 11 to restrict expenditure of revenues generated from public land leases and user fees be lifted to allow the government to reserve a portion of those revenues to fund the operation and improvement of the commonwealth’s public utilities;
• H.L.I. 16-4 — to amend Article 12 so that the leasehold interest on private lands can be extended from 55 to 75 years;
• H.L.I. 16-5 — to authorize the government to borrow money for operating expenses during “extreme situations only” and upon the approval of the people through an initiative;
• H.L.I. 16-6 — to ensure the passage of a timely, detailed, and balanced budget bill with penalty measures on the executive branch and the Legislature if they fail to meet required time schedule of its submission;
• H.L.I. 16-7 — to amend Article 2, Sections 2, 3, 5, 10, 11, 13, 16, and 17 to reduce the total number of the House and the Senate members, and cutback on their salaries; it also suggests a system of appointing a Legislative Bureau director;
• H.L.I 16-8 — to amend Article 12 by adding a new Section 7 to allow each senatorial district to amend or repeal the restrictions on alienation of land with respect to its senatorial district;
• H.L.I. 16-9 —to amend Article 15, Section 1 (c) and (e) of the Commonwealth Constitution to establish a selection process for a public school teacher to acquire a seat at the Board of Education;
• H.L.I. 16-10 — to amend Article 4, Section 5 to authorize the election of the chief justice and presiding judge by a majority of the justices and judges, respectively;
• H.L.I. 16-11 — to amend Article 3, Section 9 (a), to prohibit the withdrawal of any funds from the General Fund except by appropriations made by law, provided that certain government services and employees shall remain available to deliver services essential to the welfare of the CNMI;
• H.L.I. 16-12 — to amend Article 10 to permit the issuance of pension obligation bonds of up to $200 million for the benefit of the Retirement Fund;
• H.L.I 16-13 — to amend Article 3 to prohibit future benefit increases unless and until: a) the commonwealth government satisfies its liabilities to the Retirement Fund or; b) the Fund is fully funded;
• H.L.I 16-14 — to add a new section to Article 10 to authorize the commonwealth to issue pension obligation bonds and for other purposes;
• H.L.I. 16-15 — to amend section 12 of Article 11 of the Constitution to remove the immunity presently enjoyed by legislators from being questioned in any other place regarding statements made in the Legislature.
Before it can be placed on the general election ballot, a legislative initiative must be passed by three-fourths of the members of each house voting and present.
