Voluntary election leave bill defeated at the House

House members turned down a bill that aims to make the mandatory leave of absence of government employees seeking election “voluntary.”

The proposal, House Bill 14-351 was defeated in a majority vote during a session held on June 29.

The bill, authored by Rep. Jesus Lizama, cited that the mandatory leave of absence upon the certification of the employees’ candidacy “is a burden to both the employee and the employer.”

“The Legislature finds that the candidate should have the option of taking a leave of absence,” it said, trusting that the employee “who is a candidate for public office shall adhere to the Government Ethics Code.”

The bill wanted to amend I CMC section 8245, which requires a government employee to take a leave of absence from work immediately upon certification of candidacy by the Board of Elections until such time that the employee is no longer a candidate.

This year’s general election is set on Nov. 5. (Liberty Dones)