GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios has issued Executive Order No. 2024-008, creating and establishing the Division of Parole under the Department of Corrections.
According to the executive order dated Aug. 9, 2024, “Whenever information is sought regarding a request for the Governor to grant clemency, the Division of Parole will respond with such information.”
“Parole operations heretofore under the management and control of the Board of Parole are transferred to the management and control of the Department of Corrections,” the E.O. continued.
“The Department of Corrections commissioner shall be responsible for the services and programs for parole and be the expenditure authority.
“The Board of Parole shall relinquish responsibility for the administration and operation of services and programs for parole.
“The Department of Corrections shall be responsible for ensuring that the Board of Parole has the funding necessary to hold regular meetings upon request by the Division of Parole, at minimum twice annually.
“The Department of Corrections may promulgate rules and regulations to implement the purposes of this statute.”
The E.O. repealed 6 CMC § 4207 and enacted a new statute, subject to codification by the Law Revision Commission, establishing the Division of Parole within the Department of Corrections.
Article III, Section 15 of the CNMI Constitution states that the “governor may make changes in the allocation of offices, agencies and instrumentalities and in their functions and duties that are necessary for efficient administration.”
The E.O. noted that the Division of Parole has separate functions from the Board of Parole.
Asked about the new division, Commissioner Anthony Torres told reporters, “I have been advocating for Parole to come under DOC since around October of last year. I conveyed how the operations needed to be separate from the board. By separating operations from decision-making, there would be a clear line of accountability and oversight within the parole system.”
“It will now be called the Division of Parole within the Department of Corrections,” Torres said. “This executive order specifically outlines the transfer of responsibility for the administration and operation of parole from the Board of Parole to the Department of Corrections. As your commissioner, I am now the expenditure authority responsible for the services, programs, administration and operations for parole. I am proud to say that this will enhance our mission and vision of providing public safety through rehabilitation and operational excellence. I want to thank Governor Palacios and Lt. Governor Apatang for their support in helping make this happen,” Torres added.
