By Emmanuel T. Erediano
emmanuel@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
SENATOR Celina R. Babauta has pre-filed Senate Bill 24-99, which proposes stricter rules on lawmakers’ allowances.
Both Senate and House rules allow members to use up to $5,000 of their office funds as an allowance to defray costs of food, lodging, and other expenses incurred while attending official legislative business. However, there are slight differences between the Senate and House regarding the use of subsistence allowances.
Senate rules allow senators to spend the entire $5,000 on legislative business in any senatorial district and outside the CNMI. House rules, however, allow only the Rota and Tinian representatives to use the full $5,000 for official legislative business on Saipan or within their respective districts. Saipan representatives may use only $2,500 for costs incurred while attending legislative business on Saipan.
S.B. 24-99 notes that the NMI Constitution allows members of the Legislature to receive “reasonable allowances.” However, the bill states, “The absence of statutory limits has led to the risk that allowances could expand well beyond necessity, undermining the spirit of the constitutional language and eroding public confidence in the Legislature’s stewardship of public funds.”
The bill proposes to:
• Define “reasonable allowances” to ensure they are limited to legitimate expenses incurred in the execution of legislative duties.
• Establish a clear statutory monthly cap on allowances to prevent excessive or arbitrary disbursements.
• Prohibit the stacking or retroactive application of allowances to ensure they remain tied to real and timely expenses.
• Strengthen reporting and repayment requirements to ensure accountability and transparency.
• Reaffirm the original intent of the Constitution — that allowances are solely for necessary expenses and not a substitute for salary.