The governor issued Executive Order 08-09 on July 30.
According to Cruz, Article X, Sections 3 and 4 of the CNMI Constitution requires legislative approval for any public debt.
“Public debt may not be authorized or incurred without the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members in each house of the Legislature,” the Constitution stated.
In a letter to the Legislature, copy of which was provided to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs, Cruz noted CUC’s poor financial track record.
He urged lawmakers “not [to] allow this executive order to take its full form until further clarity and other options are considered.”
He believes that the E.O. is not permitted by the CNMI Constitution.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, he added, should look into this issue.
“The Department of the Interior has infused millions of… dollars for the improvement… of our Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s infrastructure and operations…but CUC’s vast mismanagement [has led] to the abuse of both federal and local funds,” Cruz stated.
He said the governor’s state of emergency declaration for CUC should end.
