THE 18th Youth Congress on Tuesday last week passed Youth Congress Bill 18-3, which proposes to ban the use of plastic checkout bags in the CNMI.
The CNMI Retail Plastic Bag Ban Act of 2021, which was authored by Youth Congress Speaker Cielo Citlalli G. Long, would require all unused plastic bags in the possession of persons or stores to be immediately turned over to the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality.
The bill will also provide tax incentives to businesses that use biodegradable plastic bags instead of plastic bags.
In addition, Y.C.B. 18-3 imposes a civil fine of not less than $100 and no more than $1,000 for each day a violation occurs.
According to the bill, the Department of Commerce will be in charge of monitoring the illegal use of plastic bags and of issuing citations.
All fines collected “shall be deposited into [a] special account and reserved for public education and environmental awareness advertising to be expended by BECQ.”
Y.C.B. 18-3 states that “there is an ongoing threat to marine and terrestrial animals due to discarded non-compostable plastic bags. The plastic bags are made from non-renewable sources and on this account, highly contribute to climate change.”
“We have a duty to preserve the maintenance of the Earth in which we reside,” the bill stated. “Billions of plastic bags end up as litter each year, and reducing the amount completely within the CNMI brings the overall population one step closer to improving the environment’s overall welfare.”
Mandatory representation
The Youth Congress also approved Sen. Easton Joel C. Dela Cruz’s Y.C.B. 18-1, which proposes to make representation in the Youth Congress mandatory in all schools.
Y.C.B. 18-1 states that “each private and public high school, with a student population of 20, is mandated to have one youth senator.” It also requires a minimum of one senator from each private and public high school.
The Youth Congress currently has five members.
Bills passed by the Youth Congress are forwarded to the governor and the presiding officers of the Legislature “for disposition.”
The members of the 18th Youth Congress members, from left: Floor Leader YuriHana Sasamoto, Secretary Abriette Manglona, Youth Sen. Easton Dela Cruz, Speaker Cielo Long and Vice Speaker Liekeila’akata Iakopo.
