SENATE Floor Leader Corina L. Magofna last week pre-filed Senate Legislative Initiative 23-4, which would authorize the Department of Public Lands to reserve funds for homestead subdivision power and water infrastructure.
Magofna said she will introduce S.L.I. 23-4 during the Senate session that will start at 10:30 a.m. today, Tuesday.
A legislative initiative must be passed by the affirmative vote of three-fourths of the members of each house present and voting. It cannot be vetoed by the governor, but it must be approved by a majority of voters.
S.L.I. 23-4 would amend Section 5(g) of Article XI of the NMI Constitution to authorize DPL to reserve 75% of available public land monies, after reasonable expenses are deducted, for homestead power and water infrastructure with the remaining 25% transmitted to the Marianas Public Land Trust.
According to S.L.I. 23-4, although DPL has developed several homestead subdivisions on Tinian, Rota and Saipan, the department “does not provide the water and power infrastructure necessary to construct houses and other dwellings.”
Magofna said the homestead subdivisions that lack water and power infrastructure are those in West San Jose Village, Kanadan Magpo and Marpo Heights Phase II on Tinian; Finafa and Dugi on Rota; and Kagman IV on Saipan.
Due to the lack of necessary infrastructure, she said homestead permits are sometimes withheld or homesteaders are unable to construct houses on the homestead lots that have been awarded to them.
Magofna said capital improvement project funds are insufficient to pay for the costs of installing water and power infrastructure for all the homestead developments in the CNMI.
Moreover, it is not in the public’s best interest for DPL to develop homestead subdivisions that do not include water and power infrastructure, especially if DPL has the funds to do so, Magofna said.
