Sablan won her Open Government Act lawsuit, forcing the Fitial administration to reveal the taxpayer money spent so far in paying the Washington-based law firm Jenner & Block for representing the CNMI in the governor’s lawsuit.
Sablan asked Rep. Ray N. Yumul, R-Saipan and chairman of Ways and Means, to help her secure the suppressed documents.
Last Sept. 11, the committee held a meeting and the majority voted to defer action on Sablan’s request.
Yumul said his committee members prefer to complete its work on the proposed fiscal year 2010 budget.
“I am disappointed, of course, by the decision of the committee to defer action. I do appreciate the importance of preparing a sound and balanced budget for FY 2010, and for that reason would expect that my colleagues would want to carefully examine the implications of this costly public lawsuit not only for the current fiscal year, but for the next one as well. It is clear that they do not,” said Sablan.
She said she is puzzled why her colleagues are reluctant to support her request when most of the billings and invoices made to Jenner & Block had already been made public.
“But less clear is why they do not — especially in light of the facts that 1) the legislature had actually rejected the administration’s request to appropriate funds for the lawsuit in the first place last year; and 2) the administration has explicitly acknowledged the right and responsibility of the legislature to examine the records in question,” said Sablan.
Apart from Yumul, the committee members who attended the Sept. 11 meeting were Saipan Republican Reps. Dave M. Apatang, Ralph DLG. Torres, Stanley T. Torres, Diego T. Benavente, Ramon A. Tebuteb and Rosemond B. Santos.
Also attending the meeting was Rep. Justo S. Quitugua, D-Saipan.
Reps. Edwin P. Aldan, Covenant-Tinian, and Victor B. Hocog, Ind.-Rota, were absent.
Sablan said the meeting was unrecorded and held behind closed doors, and is one more example why the Open Government Act should apply to the Legislature.
“These past 10 months, taxpayers and citizens of the CNMI have rightfully been asking, ‘What is the administration hiding?’ with respect to financial records for a lawsuit that has been filed in their name. Now they may also ask why their own elected representatives are apparently unwilling to find out,” she said.
“I plan to appeal to the presiding officers of the House, and will also submit follow-up requests to the administration pursuant to the Open Government Act,” she added.
