With only Rep. Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero, R-Saipan not around during the roll call, all 17 House members who were present voted in favor of H.B. 17-87, which now goes to the Senate.
Speaker Froilan C. Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, and Edmund S. Villagomez, Covenant-Saipan, were absent.
Introduced by Rep. Stanley T. McGinnis Torres, Ind.-Saipan, the bill will amend Public Law 8-27, or the CNMI Youth Congress Act.
Torres wants the seats allotted for the youths in each precinct, district and Northern Marianas College scrapped.
Currently, the Youth Congress consists of local youths representing schools, NMC, election precincts and districts.
Except for last year, the bill stated, the turnouts in Youth Congress elections in the precincts had been declining since 2006.
From 25 percent in 2006, the turnout went down to 13 percent in 2007 and 2008.
This indicates, the bill said, that the level of interest in the youth program is low.
The increase in voter turnout in 2009, the bill stated, was due to a vast number of students who chose to register in the precincts to support their schoolmates running for youth senator.
According to H.B. 17-87, or the CNMI Youth Congress Reform Act of 2010, the Youth Congress members should come from private and public schools with a population of 20 or more.
Schools with over 300 students can have additional members, the bill stated.
The Youth Congress, which has 25 seats, is under the administrative supervision of the Legislative Bureau.
Bills and resolutions passed by the youth senators are submitted to the Legislature for its consideration.
