Camacho, R-Saipan and an attorney, wants the governor to be held liable for dishonesty.
He noted that then-President Bill Clinton wasn’t found violating any law even though he made a public statement “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” referring to Monica Lewinsky, the White House intern who admitted she had sexual liaison with the president that resulted in his impeachment in 1998, because it wasn’t under oath.
Clinton was subsequently acquitted on all charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in the U.S. Senate.
“The people desire that the governor’s State of the Commonwealth Address must at the minimum contain correct and truthful information; to this end, the people require that the governor make his or her address under oath and attest to the truth of the completeness and accuracy of his or her proposed balance and detailed budget,” said Camacho in an interview yesterday.
He said House Legislative Initiative 16-19 aims to invoke the constitutional provision enforcing penalties if the governor provides false information to the public.
The governor will be required to deliver his annual State of the Commonwealth Address on the first Friday of April each year, unless the date or venue is changed through a joint resolution.
Three-fourths of the members of each house of the Legislature must vote in favor of a legislative initiative to have it included on the ballot in the next general election.
Voters will then decide whether to ratify or reject the proposed constitutional amendment.
