Initiative provokes testy session

House minority leader Heinz S. Hofschneider lost his temper yesterday and lashed out at his colleagues, and even the legal counsels, over what he said is a lack of needed impact analysis and sound legal advice on a proposed initiative that seeks to give municipal councils lawmaking powers.

The incident triggered a decision by the House of Representatives to put on hold all pending initiatives until they are reviewed by a special committee that will be formed for this purpose.

Hofschneider said that House Legislative Initiative 14-4 is “worse” than the 80/20 initiative, in which each senatorial district shall retain 80 percent of its income—a proposal that he said would unnecessarily deprive Tinian and Rota of needed funding.

“This is a great injustice. You can empower them but what you guys are doing is worse [than 80/20 initiative],” he said.

In effect, he said, HLI 14-4, authored by majority leader Oscar M. Babauta, would mean that every dollar earned in a senatorial district stays in that senatorial district. He also pointed out that the initiative would allow the councils to decide on the use of user fees through an ordinance.

When Babauta disagreed with him, Hofschneider flared up, “You don’t even understand your own bill!”

Hofschneider pointed out that the initiative lacks a cost analysis. “You don’t even have a cost analysis to know the impact on each senatorial district. It’s embarrassing. You can’t even show us the impact of this.”

Hofschneider also lambasted what he described as a lack of clarity in the power that the Legislature will have over an empowered municipal council.

Citing the reported threat made by Gov. Juan N. Babauta to restrict the powers of Tinian Mayor Francisco Borja to hire and fire resident directors, Hofschneider said the initiative should be precise whether legislative actions can supercede the proposed legislative authority that would be given to councils.

“Don’t wait for the court to interpret it later. Be specific now,” said Hofschneider.

He went on to ask Rep. Babauta if the governor has the authority to restrict the Tinian mayor, to which the congressman replied, ““Personally, I believe he has.”

“What authority?” asked Hofschneider. “Enforcement. He has the enforcement authority,” replied Rep. Babauta.

Hofschneider scoffed at this, expressing doubts that Gov. Babauta has that particular authority over the Tinian mayor.

The tense atmosphere spilled over to the other lawmakers, with Rep. David Apatang echoing Hofschneider’s complaint about the House legal counsels not providing them a legal opinion on the initiative.

Addressing the legal counsels, particularly House chief legal counsel Jose Bermudez, Apatang said, “Let’s not play games here! Let’s stop playing games here. The reason you are paid here is for you to do your work.”

Bermudez replied, “We’re not playing games,” adding that he never received a written request from Apatang for a legal opinion on the issue.

Following a move from minority leader Arnold I. Palacios, House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial said he would appoint a special committee to tackle this particular initiative.

Fitial said HLB 14-4, as earlier sanctioned by the Saipan and Northern Island Legislative Delegation, simply aims to remove the legislation function from the delegation and transfer it to the municipal council. Hofschneider is a member of the delegation.

“It’s as simple as that,” said Fitial.

Hofschneider said, though, “We’d have here three municipal councils deciding on appropriations. What a brilliant idea!”

Rep. Babauta said Hofschneider already knows the rationale of the proposal since it had been tackled in the 12th Legislature.

“And I had the same objections, right?” Hofschneider asked.

Babauta replied, “We just don’t see eye to eye here.”

To this, Hofschneider said, “It’s because I see a bigger picture than you do.”

After the House majority voted to put the initiative on hold, Rep. Clyde Norita immediately motioned to also put on hold two initiatives that the minority bloc had just recalled and put on calendar: HLI 14-07 and HLI 14-03, which deal with the land lease term extensions.

By a majority vote, the House decided to put on hold all pending initiatives, including HLI 14-5. HLI 14-5, also authored by Babauta, is somewhat similar to HLI 14-4, citing that “it is in the best interest of the people that each municipality play a more active role in local matters and issues strictly of local concern within their jurisdictions.”

Meanwhile, after settling the matter, Hofschneider then raised another concern—the failure of the House Education Committee to act on his over one-year-old bill that would allow teachers to get assistance when buying materials for classroom use. He said he introduced the bill in January 2004.

“Why is it sitting there all this time?” he asked.

Education committee chair Rep. Justo Quitugua said his committee is working on it. “I want better accountability. We’re working on that,” he said.

Hofschneider then pressed Quitugua to give him a timeline when the bill can be acted on. Quitugua assured him that his committee may finish work on the bill by end of April.

HLI 14-4, or the Municipal Government Legislative Initiative Act of 2004, aims to amend Article 6 of the Constitution “to treat each chartered municipality form of local governments on an equal basis and to further empower them to pass local laws exclusively on local matters.”

It said there still remain uncertainties and ambiguities as to the legal roles of these local agencies, although several attempts have been made to make them become more involved exclusively in local issues.

The local governments refer to the municipalities of Saipan and Northern Islands, Tinian and Aguigan, and Rota.

It cites greater local empowerment is necessary in anticipation of the CNMI’s population growth, which would translate to more complex issues to address.

“Certain local issues are better left to local municipal governments to deal with in the form of local municipal ordinances and decentralized deliveries of public services,” it said.

HLI 14-4 provides that the mayor shall have the executive authority limited to local laws that affect only the island or islands served.

It provides that the mayor may propose municipal ordinances relating to local matters for enactment by the municipal council.

The mayor shall have 30 days to either approve or veto municipal ordinances.

Every ordinance enacted by the council shall be signed by the presiding officer of the council and submitted to the mayor. It becomes a law upon the signing of the mayor.