THE Senate on Thursday unanimously passed Senate Bill 23-9 which would identify the Department of Public Safety heads on Tinian and Rota as resident deputy commissioners.
Right now, the DPS heads on Tinian and Rota are known as resident directors.
Authored by Sen. Jude U. Hofschneider, S.B. 23-9 now goes to the House of Representatives.
DPS Rota resident department head Edward Maratita and his Tinian counterpart, Eugenio Villagomez, expressed support for the bill.
S.B. 23-9 would allow the mayors of Tinian and Rota to appoint the resident deputy commissioners on their respective islands with the advice and consent of the municipal council.
The bill states that naming DPS heads on Tinian and Rota resident directors “creates confusion and dissension at the departments in Tinian.”
According to the bill, the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services is headed by a commissioner while DFEMS’s Tinian and Rota resident directors are identified as resident deputy commissioners.
Unlike their DPS counterparts, DFEMS resident deputy commissioners are clearly identified in a rank and file structure, the bill added.
It stated that DPS resident directors on Tinian and Rota should be clearly identified in the department’s rank and file as resident deputy commissioners with the appropriate corresponding duties and responsibilities.
Hofschneider thanked the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Government and Law and its chair, Sen. Celina R. Babauta for taking “swift action” on the bill.
He said he just wants to make the title of DPS heads on Rota and Tinian consistent with the rank and file structure of the department, similar to that of DFEMS.
Sen. Jude Hofschneider at a recent Senate session.
