There were several amendments made to the bill, which Fund officials oppose, but it will still allow beneficiaries to maintain causes of action on behalf of the Fund.
“It is intended that beneficiaries of the Retirement Fund be allowed the analogous standing and rights to sue as shareholders of corporations,” Senate Bill 17-43 states.
Introduced by Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes and passed by the Senate in September last year, the bill had gone through a lot of amendments before it was passed by the House of Representatives.
The Senate rejected the House version prompting them to create a conference committee to come up with a measure acceptable to both.
The conferees were Reyes, R-Saipan as the chairman; Sens. Jovita M. Taimanao, Ind.-Rota; Francisco Q. Cruz, R-Tinian; Reps. Rafael S. Demapan, Covenant-Saipan; Joseph M. Palacios, R-Saipan; and Sylvestre I. Iguel, Covenant-Saipan.
They agreed that the measure should be “dissected” to satisfy the Senate’s original intent.
On Wednesday last week, the conferees met to discuss the draft substitute bill and agreed to recommend its passage.
Among the amendments are provisions making the bill applicable only to the Fund and the removal of any reference to any other trust, retirement fund program or government agency.
The new version also deleted language that may give beneficiaries more rights than the Fund in a derivative action. Moreover, the statute of limitations was changed from 20 years to 12 years to provide a beneficiary with enough time to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.
