Introduced by Sen. Luis P. Crisostimo, Ind.-Saipan, Senate Bill 17-46 mandates CUC to make “a monetary settlement” for the use of a landowner’s property.
Crisostimo, who is on medical leave, stated in his bill that for many years, CUC has not been paying for the use of portions of private land where power poles are erected.
“A man’s home is his castle,” the senator said, “but it appears CUC has not heard of that saying or if they have, they do not take it literally.”
Crisostimo pointed out that private property “is among the pillars of a stable American society.”
He added, “The right to do, as one wishes at home, to use our property to create wealth, is one of the great examples of American excellence.”
He said a public utility company that uses private property without paying for it “offends this great tradition.”
But some landowners are compensated through free utility services, he added.
S.B. 17-46 will require CUC to provide the same “accommodations” to other landowners who have CUC power poles on their property.
All eight senators voted to pass the bill.
They also approved S.B. 17-74 which will reduce the rental fee of agricultural land on Tinian.
Right now, the Department of Public Lands charges farmers and ranchers $5 per hectare and up to $100 annually.
Authored by Sen. Henry H. San Nicolas, Covenant-Tinian, S.B. 17-74 lowers the per hectare fee to $3 and the annual lease to $25.
San Nicolas said during these times of economic depression, those engaged in subsistence farming and ranching can barely make ends meet.
He noted that the U.S. government leases a vast piece of Tinian land at $1 per hectare yet charges local farmers $5.
All the eight senators also voted to pass Rep. Ray N. Yumul’s House Bill 17-139 which proposes to transfer to the CNMI Treasury dormant or inactive bank accounts.
Because banks charges depositors up to $20 a month for dormant accounts, the money sitting idle for a certain number of years will eventually be gone, said Yumul, R-Saipan.
He said some states like Connecticut and territories like American Samoa have laws that prevent banks from “raiding” savings accounts.
These, he added, protect the account holders from losing their hard-earned funds.
If H.B. 17-139 becomes law, dormant bank accounts will be transferred to the CNMI Treasurer. An account will be considered inactive if no deposit or withdrawal is made for 36 months.
In these cases, banks may cease paying interest on the account until advised by the depositor or the depositor’s legal representative.
But before the bank transfers the account, it must notify the depositor in writing within 60 days from the date of notification.
The money may be claimed at any time by the rightful owner of the account by presenting proof. The money “shall accrue interest.”
