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Thursday, October 04, 2007
House overrides six vetoed bills
By Agnes E. DonatoReporter
The House of Representatives voted yesterday to override the governor's veto of six bills, including three relating to the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.This marks a departure from the House majority's previous tendency to go by the administration's policy, which at some point earned them the label “rubberstamp Legislature.”During a session yesterday, the House voted on one vetoed bill after another, reversing the governor's decision to thumb them down.“It's the season of discontent,” said House minority leader Arnold I. Palacios.First to be overridden was the bill reducing CUC's power rates. By vote of all 16 members present, House Bill 15-246 passed the House and is now headed to the Senate. The lawmakers' decision earned applause from attending members of the Taotao Tano citizen group.The House also voted unanimously in favor of a bill giving residential customers one year to pay their outstanding balances with CUC.Press secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. lamented the lawmakers' action, saying the House should have at least proposed revenue sources to support CUC.“This is definitely a setback in trying to salvage CUC,” he said. “But it's an election year. It's a different political environment to be operating in.”Nevertheless, Reyes said the administration remains hopeful about its relationship with the Legislature. On Tuesday, acting Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez approved four bills passed by the Legislature.“We may not always agree, but we will continue to work with them on things we agree on,” he said.The House succeeded in overriding the veto of H.B. 15-27. Strongly opposed by the administration and the NMI Retirement Fund, the measure proposes to allow employees with 15 years of government service to withdraw their retirement contributions. Fourteen members voted in favor of the bill. Floor leader Florencio Deleon Guerrero voted against it, and Speaker Oscar M. Babauta abstained.Three other bills drew enough votes to override the governor's rejection. H.B. 15-53 would grant preference to local contractors bidding for government projects. H.B. 15-229 proposes to amend the Chamorro-Carolinian Language Policy Commission Act. Senate Bill 15-89 seeks to offer job protection to volunteer emergency responders.However, the House failed yet again in overriding H.B. 15-300. A motion to reconsider the House's previous vote on the bill was defeated 9-4, with three members abstaining. The legislation would have put the power privatization on hold until the Public Utilities Commission and the CUC advisory board are in place to approve the contract.



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Thursday, October 04, 2007
The ball now goes to the Senate's court
By Agnes E. DonatoReporter
All eyes will be on the Senate today as it considers a veto override on a bill lowering the residential power rates in the Commonwealth.The House of Representatives voted yesterday to overrule the governor on House Bill 15-246.If the Senate follows suit and the bill becomes law, the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. will be compelled to drop its residential rates to as low as 17.6 cents per kWh.It's no surprise the Taotao Tano citizen group is lobbying the Legislature vigorously to override the governor's veto.Yesterday, Taotao Tano members went up Capital Hill to make sure the Lower House backed the bill. They broke into applause after members voted unanimously in favor of the override.Taotao Tano president Gregorio Cruz says they plan to put the same pressure on the Upper House today. The group is sending two members to attend the Senate session on Rota. Taotao Tano is also in contact with Chamorro Nation, a Rota-based indigenous group, to join forces with them.“We will be watching this session closely,” Cruz said. “The majority of the Senate must override the veto no matter what. They can work on the issues later, but the people need relief now.”At least two senators-Senate vice president Pete P. Reyes and floor leader Felix Mendiola-have pledged their support, according to Cruz.Meanwhile, the Fitial administration hopes the Senate will stand up to “political pressure.”“We hope our elected leaders will look at the facts and go beyond the political pressure. We need to be realistic and reasonable,” said press secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr.In his veto message, Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said passage of the CUC rates bill “would be detrimental to CUC, the CNMI government, and the people of the Northern Mariana Islands.The governor said the residential rates proposed in the bill would not cover their share of CUC's operating costs. As a result, CUC would experience a shortfall in electric revenues estimated at $7.2 million to $8.4 million.Further, CUC would be dependent on the Legislature to appropriate funds to offset the shortfall. With its financial condition, the government cannot afford this, Fitial said.“[It] is unlikely that the entire shortfall could be made up, which may jeopardize and disrupt CUC's ability to continue to generate sufficient electricity to meet the demands of all consumers,” the governor said.He went on to criticize the Legislature for not providing a practical solution for CUC or the government to make up for the revenue shortfall that the bill would create.He urged the Legislature to help address CUC's problems, as well as the CNMI's overall economic depression, “in a thoughtful and rational manner.”