House goes on session today
The House of Representatives is expected to vote today on three critical legislation, including a Senate measure passed last week that seeks to limit foreign workers from securing health certificates and character background clearance only from U.S.-approved clinics and agencies.
A controversial legislative initiative that will restrict the stay of nonresident workers who arrived on or after March 5, 1999 to a total of five years on the island may also be taken up, according to lawmakers.
House Speaker Diego T. Benavente said yesterday the body would also recall a bill pending before the governor regarding the plan by the government to float bonds worth more than $60 million for its capital improvement projects.
A minor technical amendment may be necessary to address the concerns of the bond counsel before the proposal can be set into motion, he added.
Today’s session has also prioritized another CIP bill for the Public School System which was amended by the Senate last week. The legislation seeks to grant spending powers to Commissioner Rita H. Inos over the nearly $30 million made available to the CNMI through the federal construction grants and the recent sale of the PSS bonds.
Benavente said he would also push for the passage of Senate Bill 11-153 tightening requirements for submission of health certificates and police clearance by alien workers seeking entry into the CNMI.
“It’s something that I am supporting,” he said. The measure is part of the reform efforts by the island government to persuade Washington against federal takeover of local labor and immigration functions.
Under the proposal, nonresidents who wish to seek employment in the Northern Marianas must secure these requirements from a list of U.S.-approved hospitals, clinics and agencies from their country of origin in a bid to prevent issuance of fraudulent records.
Meanwhile, the five-year stay limit initiative that is also intended to reform immigration policies on the island could divide the House if and when it is included in the agenda for today’s session.
Its proponent, Senate Vice President Thomas P. Villagomez, said he would lobby support of the House members as it has been pending there since early this year.
“I don’t think the Legislature has to hold back on that issue for so long,” he said in a separate interview. “Let the people decide” on the initiative, Villagomez added.
The senator has hoped to include the initiative in the balloting during the November midterm elections, but the House seems to have dilly-dallied on the proposal as initial attempt to discuss it in an earlier session was foiled at the last minute.
