Palacios said this will result in annual savings amounting to over $1 million.
Currently, Saipan has 18 House members and five election precincts. Tinian and Rota have one representative each.
House Legislative Initiative 17-4 must be passed by at least three-fourths of the members of each house of the Legislature present and voting. It does not need the governor’s approval, but it will be placed on the ballot in the next general elections to allow voters to ratify or reject it.
Speaker Eli D. Cabrera, R-Saipan, said he supports not only the reduction of Saipan’s House seats but also the idea of a part-time Legislature which, he added, will further cut the expenses of the cash-strapped government.
Nine lawmakers representing the entire Saipan, Cabrera said, will be enough.
“The cost is much less. The remaining members, hopefully, would not have a lot of employees so we can reduce our own allocations. Also, the Legislative Bureau can focus on its own work-load because if we become part-time we will have to spend time outside this building. We would only have to meet every time any of us comes up with an idea,” the speaker added.
In a separate interview, Palacios, R-Saipan, said he wants Saipan to be a single election precinct to avoid heated arguments among House members over funding allotments.
If Saipan becomes a single precinct, Palacios said all its House members will have to care for the entire island.
He also noted that “there has been a significant decline in the CNMI population, particularly onSaipan,” and the economy has also declined.
The current number of Saipan House seats, he added, is too large.
He projects an annual savings of more than $1 million annually. Currently, each House member gets a salary of $39,500 and an allocation of $84,146 each year.
