Staggered by arithmetic
IF its proponents are to be believed, House Bill 22-33 is the best thing that could happen to the islands since kale. Prefiled in March, the bill would require legislative appropriation for the $481.8 million in federal ARPA funds provided to the CNMI. The bill’s passage is critically and urgently needed, its proponents say. Hence no public hearings. “It’s the people’s money!” the bill’s proponents declare. Hence no committee report. “Time is running out!” they tell us. And yet the bill could only secure 10 votes in the 20-member House. In the nine-seat Senate? Crickets.
It is highly doubtful if it could be passed in the Senate. In the first place, it should not have been transmitted to the Senate. “The legislature,” says the CNMI Constitution, “may not enact a law except by bill and no bill may be enacted without the approval of at least a majority of the votes cast in each house of legislature.” According to basic arithmetic, the House had failed to pass the bill. And according to an online dictionary, a majority is “the number larger than half the total.” Hence, “if a group consists of 20 individuals, a majority would be 11 or more individuals, while having 10 or fewer individuals would not constitute a majority.”
So why was H.B. 22-33 transmitted to the Senate as if it were actually passed by the House? Because the House leaders invoked an old House rule that they were supposed to scrap — until they found it useful. They said the rule allowed the speaker to vote twice. Voila. The bill was “passed” 11-10 by the 20 members of the House. They apparently can’t deal with the number 20 as a mathematical concept, but they want to have a say in spending half a billion dollars in federal taxpayers’ money.
In a legal opinion, the elected, independent attorney general — who is also the former head of the NMI Democratic Party central executive committee — questioned the constitutionality of the House tie-breaking rule, saying it violated the one-man-one-vote principle in the Legislature.
Incidentally, the AG’s office said the bill is not required by ARPA as there are already federal rules in place. The public auditor’s office, for its part, said the bill would saddle OPA with an unfunded mandate and compromise its independence.
But this is an important bill! its proponents insist. OK. Then pass it in the House. You just need one more vote. But would it pass the Senate if it were actually passed by the House? Highly doubtful. Seven of the nine senators are Republicans or are aligned with them. And if, by a miracle, the bill managed to reach the governor’s desk, it would be vetoed for sure. A veto override would require 13 or 14 votes in the House and six in the Senate.
Clearly, and once again, basic arithmetic tells us that the bill’s proponents do not have the required votes to pass it.
You win some, you lose some. That’s how democratic politics works. No matter how pure your heart is, your political opinions or policy proposals are not mandates from heaven.
Meanwhile, the House leadership can always hold more oversight meetings and hearings, issue more subpoenas, deliver more speeches. All livestreamed. The show must go on.
Fair’s fair
ANOTHER member of the House minority bloc has complained about how his bill, which he prefiled in January, continues to accumulate dust on a shelf somewhere in one of the legislative offices on Capital Hill.
If the House committee chairs are opposed to the passage of his and the other minority-bloc bills, then do it the way it should be done. Hold public hearings, draft a committee report with a recommendation, and send it to the House floor for a vote.
No matter which party is running the House, it is undemocratic for any House committee chair to unilaterally approve or reject bills.
