In his veto message, Fitial applauded the Legislature “for advocating strongly for our students who desire to seek a higher education.”
However, Fitial said Senate Bill 17-24 will result in a further loss in general revenue which has been declining at an alarming rate.
The current revenue sources, the governor said, “barely sustain the various government programs and to approve this [bill] will further cripple the services provided to our residents.”
He noted that taxpayers donate an average of $1 million annually to educational institutions.
Under the education tax credit law, these donations are deducted from the amount of taxes that donors pay to the government.
Fitial said the bill also “creates uncertainty in funding each year, which would make it difficult for the scholarship administrators to accurately distribute awards.”
The appropriate method to increase scholarship funding would be by way of appropriation in the annual budget act, the governor added.
Introduced by Sen. Juan M. Ayuyu, Ind.-Rota, and Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan, S.B. 17-24 seeks to include the CNMI Scholarship Office and municipal scholarships as qualified educational institutions under the educational tax credit law.
CUC hiring law
In related news, Commonwealth Utilities Corp. Executive Director Abe Utu Malae commended the governor for signing Senate Bill 17-48, now Public Law 17-36, which will allow foreign nationals to fill technical and professional positions in CUC.
Introduced by Ayuyu, the measure will amend P.L. 17-108 which bars CUC from hiring nonresidents.
In his message to the Legislature, Fitial said he approved the bill with reservations “as it caps the number of foreign national workers at 30, although the CUC currently employs more than 30 foreign national workers and the transition period to replace the foreign national workers with qualified U.S. citizens or permanent residents may be insufficient.“
He urged the lawmakers to revisit this measure and further amend it as necessary.
Malae said CUC presently has 40 nonresident workers.
But it does not necessarily mean they will have to lay off 10 of these workers right away, he added.
“We probably need more but we have been trying to find more locals,” Malae said.
The governor also signed S.B. 17-11 which will uphold an adult’s right to decide on his own medical care or have his “life-sustaining treatment” withheld or withdrawn.
Introduced by Sen. Ralph DLG. Torres, R-Saipan, the bill is now P.L. 17-35.
