The Civil Service Commission held a special meeting last Dec. 7 to review three bills recently proposed by the Legislature, with commission chair Herman R. Deleon Guerrero saying the commission \u201cfeels strongly\u201d it should be involved in the review of all bills that will affect government employees.<\/p>\n
The three bills were Senate bills 20-52 and 20-64 and House Bill 20-143.<\/p>\n
S.B. 20-52 seeks to improve medical referral services by making all of the medical referral\u2019s and liaison offices\u2019 employment positions civil service positions and subject to the Civil Service Act.<\/p>\n
S.B. 20-64 proposes a state directory of new hires.<\/p>\n
H.B. 20-143 seeks to amend the public employment definition of the term \u201cimmediate family member.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deleon Guerrero said that Rep. Ivan Blanco (R-Saipan) asked for the commission\u2019s comments on these bills.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe commission, after review and discussion, supports all three bills, with some recommended amendments,\u201d said commission vice chair Felicitas \u201cTee\u201d Abraham. \u201cEach of the three bills provides an action that benefits the [commission] and its employees.<\/p>\n
\u201cSenate Bill 20-52 will return employees of the Medical Referral and Hawaii and Guam Liaison Offices to the Civil Service System to increase stability and performance. <\/p>\n
\u201cSenate Bill 20-64 will establish a listing of employees that will allow a new Child Support Enforcement Office better information to ensure that parents live up to their responsibilities to their children. <\/p>\n
\u201cHouse Bill 20-143 redefines the term \u2018immediate family member\u2019 to include common-law spouses to allow the use of earned sick leave to care for a sick common-law spouse. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll three laws benefit government employees and should be enacted,\u201d said Abraham.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s challenging and sometimes difficult but an important aspect of the commission\u2019s reason for being,\u201d commissioner Charles Calvo (Saipan) said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to look at each new bill to see what effect it will have on government employees.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOur responsibility as appointed members of the Civil Service Commission is to work together for the best interests of the civil service employees and to make sure that all employee-related laws and policies are fair, meaningful, and consistent to the principles of a Civil Service merit system,\u201d said commissioner Catalina Tebit (Saipan).<\/p>\n
Other members of the commission are Arsene M. Borja (Tinian), and Valerie Q. Apatang (Rota). <\/p>\n
One commissioner position for Saipan remains to be appointed by the governor. (PR)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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