Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation Chair John Paul Sablan speaks during a recent SNILD session.
THE Legislative Bureau has authorized its staff members to join lawmakers in the Mariana Islands Legislature Association conference that will be held on Guam from July 10 to 14, 2024.
The Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation chair, Rep. John Paul Sablan, is coordinating the CNMI’s attendance to the conference. He said “not a single penny from the CNMI’s coffers is going to be spent” on the off-island travel. He said the Office of Grants Management and State Clearinghouse has received grants from the Office of Insular Affairs to fund the conference.
Sablan said lawmakers from Guam and the CNMI will tackle regional matters, such as airfare costs, labor issues, healthcare and many more.
He said he has issued a memorandum to CNMI lawmakers, informing them about the conference and asking them if they want to attend. He is still waiting for his fellow lawmakers’ response.
In the meantime, Sablan said he has asked LB Director Perry John Tenorio to allow House legal counsel Joe Taijeron, Senate legal counsel Jose Bermudes and legislative assistants Clarissa Sablan and Jolyn Tagabuel to join the lawmakers in the four-day conference on Guam.
Tenorio told Sablan that “under normal circumstances, I would decline this request due to the Bureau’s current budgetary constraints and the necessity of prioritizing our limited resources.”
However, Tenorio said, since federal funds, through OGM-SC, will cover the travel expenses, “I am authorizing Bureau staff to attend and assist at the upcoming … conference. We trust their participation will be highly beneficial to this important meeting.”
