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DPL now required to consult mayors on land issues
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Posted on Jul 30 2008
The House of Representatives yesterday rejected Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s veto of legislation requiring the Department of Public Lands to consult each respective mayor before taking any action on public lands in his or her municipality.
The override vote in the House was 16-1, easily meeting the two-thirds threshold to nullify the governor’s veto. Sen. Stanley T. Torres was only member to vote against the override. The Senate last Friday voted unanimously to override. With this, the bill is now law.
Fitial disapproved the legislation, saying it “impedes in the progress and development of the DPL and it violates the Constitution.”
But the lawmakers said the measure does not take away DPL’s constitutional authority to manage public lands; it simply requires DPL to get local perspective before taking any action.
The House members further argued that DPL’s projects would have a higher chance of success if aligned with the priorities of the community in each respective island.
Rep. Edwin Aldan also challenged the governor’s argument that the law, which created DPL, already provides for an advisory board that includes representatives from each municipality. He noted that although the Tinian Mayor’s Office has appointed a representative to the board, that representative has never been called for a meeting.
Rep. Victor Hocog echoed Aldan’s claim, saying that none of the Rota individuals named to serve on an advisory board have accepted the appointment because the position is uncompensated and carries no real authority.
In his veto message to Senate President Pete P. Reyes and House Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, the governor said that requiring the DPL secretary to adhere to the mayors’ position would only add another layer of bureaucracy in managing public lands.
Fitial further argued that the measure violates the Constitution, which designates the management of public lands to the Executive Branch. “The measure would change that constitutional mandate as it will allow the mayors to share management authority, which is in direct violation of the Constitution,” he said.
