Gov. Eloy S. Inos vetoed a bill creating a new commission to examine whether the CNMI people desire continuing the islands\u2019 current political relationship with the United States, saying it is doubtful that such commission could \u201cunilaterally\u201d alter that relationship. The governor said one of the bill\u2019s provisions is \u201calmost certain\u201d to be unconstitutional.<\/p>\n
The veto comes almost two months after the CNMI marked on March 24 the 38th year of the 1976 signing of the mutually negotiated Covenant that made the Northern Marianas a part of the American political family, and paved the way for its qualified people to become U.S. citizens in 1986.<\/p>\n
Rep. Trenton Conner (Ind-Tinian), chairman of the Federal and Foreign Affairs Committee that reviewed and recommended the bill\u2019s passage, said yesterday that he\u2019s disappointed with the veto.<\/p>\n
He said he and other members are still reviewing the governor\u2019s message to see whether they would try to override the veto.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not in conformance with the opinion. There is uniqueness in the Commonwealth\u2019s relationship with the United States pursuant to the Covenant,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
House Bill 18-112, House Draft 1, authored by Rep. Felicidad Ogumoro (R-Saipan), seeks to create a Second Marianas Political Status Commission to examine whether the people of the CNMI desire continuing its relationship with the U.S. pursuant to the Covenant.<\/p>\n
The proposed commission would also determine whether that continuation of relationship is in the CNMI people\u2019s best interest, or whether some other political status would better enable them to fulfill their \u201caspirations of full and meaningful self-government.\u201d<\/p>\n
The governor cited these reasons for vetoing the bill: unconstitutional provision and a unilateral alteration of the political relationship between the CNMI and the U.S.<\/p>\n
Section 4 of the bill states partly that anyone appointed to serve on the commission shall be, among other things, \u201ca person of Northern Marianas descent as defined in Article XII 4 of the NMI Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, it is almost certain that the emphasized language violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I 6 of the Commonwealth Constitution,\u201d the governor said in his May 9 veto message to House Speaker Joseph Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan) and Senate President Ralph Torres (R-Saipan).<\/p>\n
Inos added that the equal protection clause prohibits the government from discriminating between similarly situated individuals. Importantly, he said, the equal protection clause\u2019s prohibitions are not limited to discrimination on the basis of race or gender.<\/p>\n
\u201cA court reviewing HB 18-112, HD1 would almost certainly find the requirement that a commission member must be a \u2018person of Northern Marianas descent as defined in Article XII 4 of the N.M.I. Constitution\u2019 constitutes invidious discrimination in violation of the equal protection clauses of the United States and Commonwealth Constitutions,\u201d the governor said.<\/p>\n
Inos said such a court would likely find that many of the CNMI\u2019s citizens would be unfairly excluded from holding office for a commission that would decide an extremely important issue that affects all Commonwealth residents.<\/p>\n
He said the fact that the restriction is not racial is not enough to survive a constitutional attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinally, it is doubtful that a Second MPSC could unilaterally alter the relationship between the Commonwealth and the United States,\u201d the governor told the Legislature.<\/p>\n
He said Covenant Section 105 provides that the fundamental provisions of the Covenant\u2014namely Articles I, II, and III and Sections 501 and 805 may be modified only with the consent of the U.S. and CNMI governments.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, even if the voters of the Commonwealth ultimately voted to approve changes to the Covenant, the United States would need to consent to any changes to the fundamental Covenant provisions identified above,\u201d Inos said.<\/p>\n
House members debated at length the CNMI\u2019s political relationship with the United States and federal control over local minimum wage, immigration, and certain areas for military uses before passing HB 18-112, HD1.<\/p>\n
Proponents of the bill said it \u201cdoesn\u2019t hurt\u201d to re-examine the CNMI-U.S. political relationship, while others said Covenant Section 902 discussions could be the better venue. Still, others said the Legislature should place the question on the ballot for voters to decide, before creating a commission. <\/p>\n
The governor also vetoed two other bills: HB 18-87 and HB 18-1, HS1, SD1. <\/p>\n
The first bill intends to punish public officials that issue unlawful orders to subordinates, which the governor said is already part of existing law, among other things. The second bill ratifies the adoption of the 2009 editions of the International Building Code and International Fire Code, but the governor said the measure violates the Constitution, among other things.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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