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Senate revives MLK Day proposal for NMI
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Posted on Jan 20 2006
A revived effort to establish a Martin Luther King Day in the Commonwealth got a big push from the Senate on Thursday.
Senate members voted unanimously in their first regular session to pass a bill that would combine Commonwealth Day and Covenant Day as one holiday and to proclaim Dr. Martin Luther King as an official holiday for the CNMI.
Introduced by Senate Vice President Pete Reyes, Senate Bill 15-23 now goes to the House of Representatives for concurrence.
“Being that Commonwealth Day has a direct correlation from the establishment of the Covenant, consequently, it shall be celebrated as one holiday together. Celebrating the two dates together will give greater emphasis on the historical significance of the two and create greater understanding of the correlation of the Covenant and the Constitution,” the bill said.
“Furthermore, the Legislature finds that Martin Luther King Day should be incorporated as a legal holiday in the CNMI. Dr. King was a prominent civil rights leader and through his work and devotion we enjoy the freedom and civility in our life everyday,” he added.
Reyes’s bill will also make the second Monday in October Cultural Day, rather than Columbus Day.
Currently, the Commonwealth has 14 legal holidays: New Year’s Day, Commonwealth Day, President’s Day, Covenant Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence/Liberation Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Citizenship Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Constitution Day, and Christmas Day.
Martin Luther King Day is celebrated in the United States on the third Monday in January.
The 14th Legislature passed in 2004 a Senate bill abolishing both the President’s Day and Columbus Day and replacing them with Martin Luther King and Cultural Day.
But then acting Gov. Diego T. Benavente vetoed the bill, saying that U.S. presidents have profound contributions to American democracy.
Benavente urged the 14th Legislature to preserve the President’s Day and establish the Martin Luther King’s Day by adopting a substitute legislation submitted by the Office of the Governor.
