HOUSE members who are part of the incoming administration’s transition committee on Thursday explained their roles in the transition process.
Rep. Tina Sablan leads the transition team for the Infrastructure Recovery Program and Office of Planning and Development under the Office of the Governor, and is a member of the transition team for the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.
Rep. Edwin Propst is the team leader of the transition team assigned to the Department of Public Safety.
Rep. Corina Magofna is a member of the transition team for the Department of Finance while Rep. Leila Staffler leads the transition team for the Department of Labor and the Northern Marianas Technical Institute.
Also taking part in the transition process is Sen. Edith Deleon Guerrero who is a member of the transition team for Labor and NMTI.
Rep.-elect Marissa Flores is the leader of the transition team for the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation while Rep.-elect Vincent “Kobre” Aldan is a member of the transition team for CUC.
Conflict of interest
During the miscellaneous part of the session on Thursday, Rep. Joseph Flores expressed concern on behalf of his constituents about the possible conflict of interest involved when members of the legislative branch are performing tasks for the executive branch. The two are supposed to be separate branches.
House legal counsel John M. Bradley told Flores that it was a very broad question that will require certain facts and research, but in general, “I don’t know if there is open disqualification.”
He said a lawmaker assisting in an executive branch transition process “does not in itself have…any sort of conflict.” He said conflicts have to do with specific subjects and facts that one may or may not benefit from.
To answer a very general question, Bradley added, “I can’t find anything wrong with it.”
For someone from the legislative branch to assist in the transition process, “in general, is perfectly normal and probably a historically frequent act,” he added.
Smart decision
Rep. Sheila Babauta said it would be a “smart decision” for lawmakers, current and incoming, to be part of the transition process so they could be aware of how executive branch offices work. When the findings and recommendations come out, she added, the lawmakers are already aware of the issues that need to be “solved.”
“So, I think it is perfectly normal and I think that is one way you can probably address some of the constituents’ concerns. We are all part of the community and being a leader who reviews the processes is a good thing,” she said.
Voluntary
Sablan said she is not getting any additional compensation for serving on the transition team “if that…is something that members are concerned about.”
She said no one on the transition team, including current employees of government agencies, is getting additional compensation as it is entirely voluntary.
Sablan said the transition process is a lot of work, but it also provides access to a lot of information.
The goal is to prepare a report for the incoming administration and the people about the issues affecting the government and the community that need to be addressed.
Conflict-of-interest form
Sablan said transition team members also had to sign a conflict-of-interest form.
“If you have any concerns and any more specific facts that you would like to raise and ask about you are more than welcome,” she told Rep. Joseph Flores.
“For myself, I am not aware of any ethical issues or conflicts of interest, and again, we are doing this totally voluntarily. And I don’t think that it is unprecedented,” Sablan added.
For his part, Propst said he appreciates Flores’s questions in the spirit of transparency.
“We are not allowed to participate unless we have that conflict-of- interest form filled out,” Propst said. “I can assure you that I did look at it, and I had it looked over by my ‘CEO,’ that is my wife, and we made sure that I am not related to anybody in the department that I am assisting with.”
Propst said there is a lot of work involved, but it is strictly voluntary and he receives no additional compensation whatsoever. “We get a pat on a back once in a while but definitely no monetary gain from this. It just comes from the heart to try to assist.”
House Floor Leader Ralph Yumul said he was selected to be part of a transition team for the Department of Finance, but he chose not to join due to a possible conflict of interest because of his family’s businesses.
Magofna said “it’s…worth noting that the job of the transition teams is not to go in there and recommend any person or persons as to which positions to get.”
She said it is all about understanding the process, policies and challenges that each department or agency is facing.
In no way, she said, that the transition team members “would go in there and recommend who should be in [what] position.”
Rep. Joseph Flores speaks during a House session on Thursday.
Rep. Edwin Propst responds to a question about his participation in the transition process.
