Two years ago, lawmakers abolished the autonomous Marianas Public Lands Authority and created DPL under the executive branch.
MPLA, for its part, was established to remove the control over public lands from the governor’s office.
All eight senators present during their session yesterday voted in favor of passing S.B. 16-42.
Sen. Paterno S. Hocog, R-Rota, was absent.
“If you look at past experience with MPLA, with excessive compensation and travel, among other abuses, you can see some of the dangers clearly presented when politics is allowed to trump economics and sound, prudent management of scarce public resources,” Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. told Variety in an e-mail when asked to comment.
But Sen. Jude U. Hofschneider, R-Tinian and the bill’s sponsor, said DPL has not been responsive to the needs of Northern Marianas-descent people, particularly on the issue of the homestead program.
“The purpose of this act is to reinstate a board to the department, while keeping the department within the executive branch, in the hopes that the board will be more responsive to the wishes of the people of the Northern Marianas,” his bill stated.
The measure now goes to the House of Representatives.
Under S.B. 16-42, DPL will be governed by a five-member board.
The board will be empowered to decide on any public land issue and its members will be compensated for attending meetings.
The bill will also create at least one director for the DPL offices on Rota and Tinian.
The current DPL secretary will continue serving the agency “until the board replaces him,” the bill stated.
