The author of S.B. 17-69, Senate President Paul A. Manglona, said scholarship checks are currently sent out in batches.
Students who get their checks on a later date feel they are being treated unfairly, he added.
They and their parents suspect that those who are in the first batch of recipients have some “connections” in the government, he said.
According to Manglona, Ind.-Rota, allowing all the scholars to get their allotments at one time will remove such suspicion.
His measure, he added, will ensure that all students get their fair share of the scholarship funds.
Everyone gets the checks at the same time, he said.
Variety learned that there are 1,200 CNMI scholars.
Manglona’s bill states that due to the government’s decreasing revenues, scholars are often not receiving all the monies in a timely manner.
The funds are released in first- come, first-served basis, the bill added.
It will require the CNMI Scholarship Office, through the Department of Finance, to issue scholarship money as it becomes available.
Once funding is enough, Finance will “determine the percentage available based on the total monetary scholarship demand and pay these monies on a pro-rata share for each student.”
Each student will receive “the relevant percentage of their individual award.”
The Senate was supposed to hold its session at 10 a.m. yesterday but one of the transformers on Capital Hill exploded, causing a power outage at all government offices there.
The Senate moved its session to 6 p.m.
