Chaired by Rep. Ralph DLG. Torres, R-Saipan, the committee also approved the measures to establish a population-based cancer registry in the CNMI, and to amend the law on motor vehicle liability insurance.
But the committee decided to shelve H.B. 16-50 which would have mandated attendance for early childhood education, and House Legislative Initiative 16-9 which states that the teacher representative to the Board of Education will be selected by Public School System teachers.
The CNMI Constitution requires that the teacher representative will be selected “by an exclusive bargaining representative of the teachers within” PSS.
The interpretation of this provision has resulted in contentious debates between the Board of Education and some teachers and among teachers themselves.
A similar legislative initiative has already been passed and will be placed on the ballot in next year’s general elections.
Retirement Fund bill
Also on Friday, the committee amended H.B. 16-145, which will mandate the government “to prioritize and pay the retirement employer contributions of government employees…eligible to retire….”
This bill was introduced by Torres following the Retirement Fund’s decision to suspend all applications for retirement benefits due to the government’s failure to pay its employer contributions to the pension system for more than two years.
But according to the bill, “eligible government employees have a right to retire…at the time of their choosing, not at the time the government decided to pay its employer contributions” to the Retirement Fund.
The bill originally proposes that eligible government employees who want to retire should have 30 days “from the effective date of this Act to file an application for service retirement annuity.”
The committee changed “30” to “60” days.
NMC autonomy
Introduced by Rep. Justo S. Quitugua, D-Saipan, H.B. 16-66 states that the Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation team has asked NMC to seek changes in the law on the appointment and removal of the college president.
Current law allows the NMC board to “appoint, remove and establish the salary level for the president with the condition that the initial appointment…shall be for a period not to exceed two years and…that no appointment shall be for a period to exceed four years.”
WASC, according to the bill, wants NMC to have a governing board “that is an independent policy-making body capable of reflecting constituent and public interest in board activities and decisions.”
The bill will give the NMC board “the authority to determine the term” of the college president so that it will meet WASC’s eligibility requirements and “provide for stable leadership” at NMC.
Autism commission
Introduced by Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider, R-Saipan, H.B. 16-135 will create a Commonwealth Autism Commission to develop a state plan that will guide services for individuals with autism spectrum disorders.
According to the bill, autism is “the fastest growing serious developmental disability” in the U.S. and the CNMI.
“Experts estimate that two to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism,” the bill stated. “In the 2007-2008 school year, the Public School System had 58 students…with autism…which is an increase from the previous year.”
The bill stated that a commission on autism will provide “state of the art clinical services, increas[e] capacity for services through training, increase[e] knowledge and awareness about autism in the professional community and general public, and conduct research aimed at improving the lives of individuals with autism and their families.”
The commission will have 14 members representing the Legislature, PSS, the Community Guidance Center, the Department of Public Safety, the family court, NMC, the Council for Developmental Disabilities, the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Division of Youth Services, the Northern Marianas Protection & Advocacy System Inc., the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, the Autism Society of the CNMI, and a parent of an autistic individual to be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives.
The members “shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.”
Cancer registry
Introduced by Torres, H.B. 16-126 will establish, within the Department of Public Health, a CNMI Cancer Registry which will collect information on all cases of cancer occurring in the commonwealth.
The registry will “analyze and compare such date in appropriate ways and…annually prepare and distribute a report on their findings.”
According to the bill, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the CNMI and “most prevalent cancers can be prevented with early detection and treatment.”
Developing a population-based cancer registry, the bill stated, will provide important data that will allow Public Health to “understand and address cancer more effectively.”
Motor vehicle liability
H.B. 16-60, introduced by Torres, states that commonwealth law — 9 CMC § 8201 —already provides for motor vehicle liability insurance and the amounts required for such insurance.
“Accordingly, the Legislature finds that 9 CMC § 2407, as enacted by Public Law 15-25, is duplicative and liability insurance requirements of 9 CMC § 8201…should be the standard for all such liability insurance,” the bill stated.
H.B. 16-60 will also repeal 9 CMC § 2408 which requires businesses to get a surety in the amount of $100,000 to qualify as a driver’s education school.
“[T]here is no insurance company in the CNMI that could provide such a surety and a driving education school is not the type of business that warrants such a surety,” the bill stated.
Saipan’s first and only driving school — the Driving Training Academy — began accepting students in March 2007 and is located on the sixth floor of the former Nauru Building in Susupe.
Besides Torres and its vice chairman, Rep. David M. Apatang, R-Saipan, the House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare members are Reps. Edwin P. Aldan, Covenant-Tinian; Raymond D. Palacios, Covenant-Saipan; Quitugua; Joseph C. Reyes, R-Saipan; and Edward T. Salas, R-Saipan.
