Saipan Tribune

Monday, August 20, 2012

Saipan lawmakers hold off action on bill giving $150,000 to indigenous programs

The Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation held off acting on a seven-month-old local bill appropriating $150,000 from the Managaha land user fee trust account mostly for the 2012 Indigenous Marianas Conference, to take into consideration other requests for funding.

Rep. Ray Tebuteb (R-Saipan), chair of the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, referred back House Local Bill 17-71 to the Committees on Ways and Means and Natural Resources during Friday morning's session.

Tebuteb said the consensus is to make HLB 17-71 a rider to the “concerns” raised earlier, including funding needed for land compensation, the Independent Living Center and Little League, among other things.

“I was ready to act on the bill Friday, but the consensus was to refer it back to committees,” Tebuteb said.

HLB 17-71, introduced by House vice speaker Felicidad Ogumoro (Cov-Saipan), seeks to appropriate $120,000 of the total $150,000 from the Managaha land user fee trust account pursuant to Public Law 13-16, for the 2012 Indigenous Marianas Conference.

The remaining $30,000 will be used for the celebration of Chief Aghurubw recognition week in September, which is Cultural and Heritage Month.