The municipal councils of Tinian, Saipan and Rota are meeting for two days on Tinian to discuss the powers of the municipal councils to enact and appropriate local laws.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Governor\u2019s veto message states that the municipal councils do not have any constitutional authority to make local laws,\u201d said Juanita M. Mendiola, Chairperson of the Tinian Municipal Council. \u201cHowever, I am of the opinion that position is not correct,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
The Legislative Delegations of each respective senatorial district vests its legislative powers from Article VI of the CNMI Constitution.<\/p>\n
This was necessary because under the pre-Commonwealth government, prior to 1978, the municipal councils were abolished. The people voted to bring the municipal councils back to life by way of Amendment 25 in 1985 through a Legislative Initiative.<\/p>\n
According to Ms. Mendiola, Amendment 25 should have included specific provisions whereby the municipal councils were granted legislative authority to propose, amend and enact local laws ordinances; however, the specific language was never implemented and instead mentioned general powers.<\/p>\n
House Bill 12-141, which would have granted the municipal councils more power was vetoed on Tuesday, November 21, 2000, by the Governor.<\/p>\n
In his veto message, the Governor said, \u201cIn order to vest the municipal councils with the authority to make local laws and divest such authority from the local delegations, [Amendment 25] must be amended.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prominent local attorney and legal counsel to the Saipan & Northern Islands Municipal Council, David A. Wiseman, appeared as keynote speaker. In his address, Wiseman recommended that a certification process by the CNMI Supreme Court should be pursued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough I agree that certification would be the most direct approach to clarify the issue, a popular initiative to bring the issue by vote of the people is also necessary,\u201d said Ms. Mendiola.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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