By Emmanuel T. Erediano
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Variety News Staff
THE House of Representatives on Monday unanimously passed House Bill 24-62, which would make electronic signatures legally valid.
Authored by Rep. Vincent Aldan and co-sponsored by Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez, Rep. Blas Jonathan Attao, Rep. Ralph N. Yumul, Rep. Angelo Camacho, and Rep. Thomas John Manglona, the bill, also known as the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, is designed to place electronic signatures and records on firm legal ground and allow the Commonwealth to join the vast majority of U.S. jurisdictions that already treat electronic records as equal to paper.
All 18 House members present voted to pass H.B. 24-62, which is now with the Senate. Rep. Julie Marie Ogo and Rep. Joseph Flores were excused, while Rep. Patrick San Nicolas attended the session via video conference.
H.B. 24-62 is among the measures supported by Gov. David M. Apatang. In a letter to Senate President Karl King-Nabors and Speaker Villagomez last month, the governor said the bill “is a necessary and remedial step” to ensure the CNMI can present itself on par with other states and territories as a domicile for businesses.
However, he also recommended two amendments. First, he said the bill, in its current form, would prevent digital signatures from being used on lease agreements. Considering that leases are a primary source of income for many families of Northern Marianas Descent, he believes there should be fewer — not more — impediments to executing leases when lessees are not physically present to sign documents.
Second, the bill requires the Commerce secretary to promulgate regulations regarding digital signatures “for all Commonwealth agencies.” The governor said his administration believes this provision is inefficient, as individual rulemaking authorities are already responsible for such regulations within their respective agencies. He added that the provision may not withstand a legal challenge.
“We urge that it be removed and that rulemaking authorities’ statutory powers be allowed to govern the implementation,” the governor wrote.
Emmanuel “Arnold” Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.
