Two bills seek to streamline Fund’s operation

House Floor leader Joseph James N. Camacho on Friday introduced two sister bills that are designed to streamline the NMI Retirement Fund for better revenue collection and more efficient system.

At present, the Fund’s board of trustees wears three hats: as trustees for the Retirement, as board of the Group Health & Life Insurance Program for the CNMI government, and commissioners for the Worker’s Compensation Commission.

House Bill 16-138 seeks to transfer the administrative functions of the Workers Compensation Commission to the Department of Commerce by amending the Worker’s Compensation Law.

House Bill 16-139 proposes the transfer of the administrative functions of the GHLI Program to the Department of Finance by amending the NMI Retirement Fund Act.

Camacho told Saipan Tribune yesterday that monitoring the Workers Compensation Commission can best be handled by the Department of Commerce so that it can be a “one-stop function.”

“When a person is applying for a business license, the Worker’s Compensation fees can also be completed at the same time,” said the floor leader in an e-mail.

Under this bill, a person no longer needs to go to Commerce for the business license then to go to the Fund to pay for the Worker’s Compensation fees, he said.

“It streamlines the process and makes for better revenue collection,” the lawyer-turned-lawmaker said.

Under the legislation, the Commerce Secretary or a designee shall serve as the administrator of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.

In the event the Commerce Secretary fails to designate an administrator, the bills says the Secretary shall function as the administrator and select no less than five additional employees of Commerce to function as the Workers Compensation Commission.

With respect to the second bill, Camacho said the GHLI has essentially been privatized and no longer requires the oversight of the Fund’s board of trustees.

“[Since] CNMI government employees generally pay for their health and life insurance and the Department of Finance is the gatekeeper on payroll deductions to pay for these insurances, the Department of Finance is best suited as the agency to handle GHLI,” he said.

This, Camacho said, will streamline the process as Finance will remit directly to the insurance provider.

Under the proposed measure, the Finance Secretary will have the expenditure authority over the trust fund, and shall report to the Legislature and to the governor on the financial status of the trust fund no later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year.