House again poised to tackle private land lease extensions

House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan) said the Senate legislative initiative extending private land leases from 55 years to 99 years “is not dead,” adding that the leadership is considering further action on either the initiative or the rejected committee report recommending passage of a substitute one.

Cabrera said he could again assign the initiative to the House Natural Resources Committee chaired by Rep. Joseph Palacios (R-Saipan) for review and recommendation.

“Or if there’s no objection from the members, we could have a reconsideration of the action on the committee report rejected during the last session. Or we can put the initiative on the calendar again for action,” he said.

Rep. Stanley Torres (Ind-Saipan) said yesterday that should the standing committee report is put to a vote again, it will now be adopted.

“I guarantee that the committee report will go through the second time, and it [initiative] will make it to the ballot,” Torres told Saipan Tribune.

A House session may be scheduled for next week.

By a vote of 9-6, the House rejected on Friday the committee report on Senate Legislative Initiative 17-4, Senate Draft 1, recommending passage of the initiative.

Palacios, chairman of the Natural Resources Committee which reviewed the initiative, expressed disappointment with members of the leadership who voted against the report, saying it was not the first time that members have shown disrespect and non-cooperation.

Cabrera said that after their leadership meeting Tuesday to discuss Palacios’ concerns, he believes members are now more prepared to make a decision on the committee report on SLI 17-4 or on the initiative itself.

Palacios resigned as committee chair on Monday, but the speaker did not accept his resignation and asked him to remain with the leadership. Palacios and Cabrera said members admitted that they have been overwhelmed with other professional and personal responsibilities, which sometimes result in their inability to review bills assigned by the speaker to committees.

Those who supported adoption of the committee report said it does not make sense that the CNMI, which tries to lure investors to help its economy, does not even want to extend the number of years that foreign investors can lease private lands, adding that passage of the initiative will be one way not to bother with the contention Article 12.

Article 12 restricts ownership of land to only those of Northern Marianas descent.

Over the years, proposals to extend permissible term for private land leases in the CNMI have been unsuccessful. The proposals included extending the 55-year term to 77 years or 99 years.