MPLA to become agency with 5-member advisory board

Grave cases of mismanagement and abuse of power by its top officials are the reasons the Marianas Public Lands Authority will soon be transformed from an autonomous agency into a department within the Executive Branch.

House Bill 15-57, which seeks to create a Department of Public Lands, enumerates a long list of reasons MPLA should be abolished and the management of the Commonwealth’s public lands returned to elected legislative and executive officials.

Besides implementing “excessive and unreasonable” levels of compensation, travel and per diem payments for the board, MPLA also violated several CNMI laws and regulations, according to the bill.

H.B. 15-57 notes that MPLA has improperly taken title to certain public lands in the name of the authority, rather than the name of the Commonwealth. The agency has failed to provide any funds generated from public lands to the Marianas Public Land Trust since 1991, violating the requirements of Article XI of the CNMI Constitution.

MPLA never adopted appropriate policies and procedures for collecting money from lessees who failed to make rental payments. Neither did the authority adopt policies and procedures to ensure that the agency’s land compensation and exchange program is managed in an objective, fair, and cost-effective manner, the bill states.

The measure also accuses MPLA of depriving the Commonwealth of needed funds by imprudent investment policies, including the retention of millions of dollars in cash or cash equivalents. The authority also failed to respect the statutory responsibilities of other agencies and did not work constructively with them regarding land use, permitting, licensing, and leasing matters.

Furthermore, MPLA failed to establish an organizational structure and personnel policies that meet minimal standards of agency governance and public administration. This is proven by untimely organizational structure changes, variable contract terms, lack of an educational leave policy, the hiring of employees by board members without proper documentation or compliance with prevailing labor laws, and assigning supervisory responsibilities to persons lacking management skills and experience, the proposed legislation notes.

Supported by the administration and majority of the lawmakers, H.B. 15-57 would abolish MPLA and establish the Department of Public Lands.

The new agency would be headed by a secretary appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate. The secretary of Public Lands would have a five-member advisory board. The four CNMI mayors would appoint one member each, while the governor would name the fifth member. At least one of the five members should be a woman and at least one should be a person of Carolinian descent.

The bill also includes specific provisions on how the department should manage the Commonwealth’s public lands.

A public hearing on the proposed legislation is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 10, 2006.