AGO awaiting Babauta’s action on salary cap issue

As far as the Attorney General’s Office is concerned, the ball is now in the administration’s court, insofar as acting on the Office of the Public Auditor’s report that some requirements were not met in giving 18 employees salaries in excess of the ceiling set by law.

Attorney General Robert Torres said the OPA report recommends corrective legislation that would address conflicting statutes on personnel matter but the fact is his office is required to enforce the present laws on the books.

“My purview at this point is awaiting what action will be taken by the Executive Branch or the Legislative Branch with respect to the certification and sanctioning and the scope of that action, whether it includes employees from 1998, since the enactment of Public Law 11-41, up to the current 18 employees identified in this new administration,” he said.

“I anticipate that the administration will seek to confer with the Legislative Branch to strike and fashion an appropriate remedy,” he added.

Torres pointed out that the enforcement of the law is left to his office and, if resolution in terms of certification and sanction is not obtained, then he will have to see to it that the terms of the law and the statute are followed by the Executive Branch, consistent with Public Law 11-41.

The OPA report reaffirmed some of the comments made by House Speaker Heinz Hofschneider two weeks ago and the report issued by Rep. Stanley Torres, Chair of the House Ways And Means Committee, regarding the certification requirement of the positions in the Executive Branch under Public Law 11-41 and the sanction requirement for these positions.

That law states that, for employees to receive salaries in excess of the ceiling set for their positions, the Governor has to certify that diligent efforts to find somebody willing to take on the position at the salary level set by law has failed. The law also requires the Legislature to sanction the granting of the salary in excess of the statutory cap.

Hofschneider pointed this out to Gov. Juan N. Babauta and had told him that, absent these requirements, the Legislature will not be sanctioning the certifications at the moment.

Torres said he believes that the Executive Branch recognizes and appreciates the issues raised by the House of Representatives and the OPA.

“So, over the next several days, the administration will be advising me and the Legislative Branch as to what actions they are taking to correct this issue and ultimately, it is my hope that it can be resolved through further communication and discussion without resorting to more problematic legal approaches,” he said.

As for the 45 physicians at the Department of Public Health and four engineers and architects, who are also receiving salaries in excess of the statutory caps, Torres said his office will also require legislative sanctioning for these employees.

“I don’t think there’s any choice. It has been manifested from the Legislature that they are expecting sanctioning also from the professionals at the [Commonwealth Health Center] and also from the advisors and other personnel at the Executive Branch,” he said.

Whether or not the matter will have any chilling effect on people offering their services to the Commonwealth in critical areas, Torres said the legal issue would always be present.

“The only question is whether it’s going to be solved through legal means or through more diplomatic and practical means. To avoid litigation, every lawyer would urge more practical means through negotiations and frank discussions because it would be neither productive and probably an exercise in futility and frustration, both for the employees and the Commonwealth government,” he added.

The Attorney General expressed strong support for the OPA’s recommendation for a comprehensive law that would incorporate and bring under one statute all personnel rules, laws and regulations in the CNMI, saying he couldn’t have put it any better.