Adriano: Reduce House members

To save on costs, a lawmaker is amendable to reducing the number of House membership—but not the Senate.

Senate President Joaquin G. Adriano said his suggestion is better than pursuing a House-initiated bill that aims to make the CNMI Legislature a part-time body.

“It’s much better if we reduce the number of House of Representatives [members] and maintain the present status of the Senate,” said Adriano, noting that the upper house’s nine members equally represent all the senatorial districts.

The Senate consists of three members from each senatorial district: Rota, Tinian, and Saipan. The House of Representatives has 18 members who are elected by district.

Saipan, which has four districts, is represented by a total 16 members, while Tinian, which is the 5th District, and Rota, the 6th District, has one representation each.

Adriano, who is from Tinian, said reducing the number of House members would be more logical than amending the Constitution to convert the body into a part-time Legislature, as pushed by the House majority.

The House initiative was recently defeated in a vote.

“I’ve been saying it’s a dream. Nothing will ever happen [to] that proposal [part-time legislature]. How do you expect [to have] a part-time legislature when you’re supposed to have three equal branches of government? The two other branches should be part-time, too,” said Adriano.

During a public hearing on the initiative last year, Northern Marianas College instructor Sam McPhetres favored the reduction in Legislature membership. He said that, if the goal is simply to cut costs, it may be more realistic to reduce the size of the Legislature by about 30 percent. This would mean six senators and 12 representatives.

Adriano noted that the House was originally composed of only 12 members. “From 12, they increased it to 14, then 18.”

He said lowering the number of House members can be done by introducing a bill. “I think it can be done by a bill. We don’t have to amend the Constitution.”

The defeated part-time initiative, which was introduced by Rep. Clyde Norita, wanted to remove the $39,300 annual salary of each lawmaker, and cut the operations funds from $155,000 to $75,000.

The proposal provided that a lawmaker shall receive per diem allowance based on attendance at sessions and committee meetings.