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Section 1: Legislative Power. The legislative power of the
Commonwealth shall extend to all rightful subjects of
legislation and shall be vested in a Northern Marianas
Commonwealth legislature composed of a senate and a house of
representatives.
Section 2: Composition of the Senate.
a) The senate shall consist of nine members with three
members elected at large from each of three senatorial
districts. The first senatorial district shall consist
of Rota, the second senatorial district shall consist
of Tinian and Aguiguan, and the third senatorial
district shall consist of Saipan and the islands north
of it. The senate shall be increased to twelve members
and three members shall be elected at large from a
fourth senatorial district consisting of the islands
north of Saipan at the first regular general election
after the population of these islands exceeds one
thousand persons.
b) The term of office for senator shall be four years
except that the candidate receiving the third highest
number of votes in the first election in each senatorial
district shall serve a term of two years.
c) A senator shall be qualified to vote in the Commonwealth,
at least twenty-five years of age, and a resident and
domiciliary of the Commonwealth for at least five years
immediately preceding the date on which the senator
takes office. A longer residency and domicile
requirement may be provided by law.
d) A candidate for the senate shall be a registered voter
in the senatorial district where he or she is a
candidate.
Section 3: Composition of the House of Representatives.
a) The house of representatives shall consist of fourteen
members with twelve members elected from Saipan and
the islands north of it, one member elected from Rota
and one member elected from Tinian and Aguiguan.
The number of representatives may be increased by law
to not more than twenty. The term of office for
representative shall be two years.
b) For purposes of electing representatives Rota shall
constitute one district, Tinian and Aguiguan shall
constitute one district, and Saipan and the islands
north of it shall constitute six districts. The
legislature may change the number and boundaries of
these districts only pursuant to its duties under
N.M.I. Const. art. II, § 4. When the population of the
islands north of Saipan equals or exceeds the number
of persons represented by any member of the house of
representatives these islands shall constitute a
separate district electing one representative.
c) A representative shall be qualified to vote in the
Commonwealth, at least twenty-one years of age, and a
resident and domiciliary of the Commonwealth for at least
three years immediately preceding the date on which the
representative takes office. A longer residency and
domicile requirement may be provided by law.
d) A candidate for the house of representatives shall be a
registered voter of the election precinct where he or she
is a candidate.
Section 4: Reapportionment and Redistricting.
a) At least every ten years and within one hundred twenty
days following publication of the results of a decennial
census, the legislature shall reapportion the seats in
the house of representatives or revise the districts for
electing representatives as required by changes in
Commonwealth population or by law. A reapportionment or
redistricting plan shall provide for contiguous and
compact districts and for representation by each member
of the house of representatives of approximately the same
number of residents to the extent permitted by the
separate islands and the distribution of population in
the Commonwealth.
b) If the legislature fails to act pursuant to N.M.I.
Const. art. II, § 4(a), the governor shall promulgate a
reapportionment or redistricting plan within one hundred
twenty days after the expiration of the time for the
legislature to act. The governor's plan shall be
published in the same manner as an act of the legislature
and upon publication shall have the force of law. Upon
the petition of any person qualified to vote, the
Commonwealth appeals court or the United States District
Court if no Commonwealth appeals court has been created
under N.M.I. Const. art. IV, § 3 has original and
exclusive jurisdiction to review a plan and to amend it
to comply with the requirements of this Constitution or
to establish a plan if the governor has failed to act
within the time provided.
Section 5: Enactment of Legislation.
a) Appropriation and revenue bills may be introduced only
in the house of representatives. Other bills may be
introduced in either house of the legislature.
b) A bill shall be confined to one subject except bills for
appropriations or bills for the codification, revision
or rearrangement of existing laws. Appropriation bills
shall be limited to the subject of appropriations.
Legislative compliance with this subsection is a
constitutional responsibility not subject to judicial
review.
c) The legislature may not enact a law except by bill and no
bill may be enacted without the approval of at least a
majority of the votes cast in each house of legislature.
d) The legislature shall enact no law which increases the
class of nonaliens, except as to those persons defined in
Covenant § 506(c).
Section 6: Local Laws. Laws that relate exclusively to local
matters within one senatorial district may be enacted by the
legislature or by the affirmative vote of a majority of the
members representing that district. The legislature shall
define the local matters that may be the subject of laws
enacted by the members from the respective senatorial
districts, laws enacted through initiative by the voters of
a senatorial district under N.M.I. Const. art. IX, § 1,
regulations promulgated by a mayor under N.M.I. Const. art.
VI, § 3(e), or local ordinances adopted by agencies of local
government established under N.M.I. Const. art. VI, § 6(b)
Section 7: Action on Legislation by the Governor.
a) Every bill enacted shall be signed by the presiding
officer of the house in which the bill originated and
transmitted to the governor. If the governor signs the
bill, it shall become law. If the governor vetoes the
bill, it shall be returned to the presiding officer of
each house of the legislature with a statement of the
reasons for the veto. The governor may veto an item,
section, or part in an appropriation bill and sign the
remainder of the bill; provided that the governor may not
veto an item, section, or part governing the manner in
which an appropriation may be expended if any
appropriation affected by the item, section, or part is
approved.
b) The governor shall have twenty days in which to consider
appropriation bills and forty days in which to consider
other bills. If the governor fails either to sign or
veto a bill within the applicable period, it shall become
law.
c) A bill or an item, section, or part of a bill vetoed by
the governor may be reconsidered by the legislature. The
legislature shall have sixty days from the receipt of the
governor's veto message in the house of origin of the
vetoed bill, item, section or part of a bill to
reconsider the vetoed legislation. If two-thirds of the
members in each house vote upon reconsideration to pass
the bill, item, section or part, it shall become law.
d) Any appropriation bill, or any bill affecting spending
authority, government financial management, or
organization of the government, enacted in the period
between a regular general election and the second Monday
of January of the following year shall be void unless
enacted by the affirmative vote of three-fourths of the
members of each house of the legislature.
Section 8: Impeachment. The legislature may impeach those
executive and judicial officers of the Commonwealth subject
to impeachment under this Constitution. The house of
representatives may initiate impeachment proceedings by the
affirmative vote of two-thirds of its members and the senate
may convict after hearing by the affirmative vote of
two-thirds of its members.
Section 9: Vacancy. A vacancy in the legislature shall be filled
by special election if one-half or more of the term remains.
If less than one-half of the term remains, the governor shall
fill the vacancy by appointing the unsuccessful candidate for
the office in the last election who received the largest
number of votes and is willing to serve or, if no candidate is
available, a person qualified for the office from the district
represented.
Section 10: Compensation. The members of the legislature shall
receive an annual salary of eight thousand dollars and
reasonable allowances for expenses provided by law. The
salary of members may be changed no more than once every four
years and only upon the recommendation of an advisory
commission established by law to make recommendations
concerning the compensation of Commonwealth executive,
legislative and judicial officers. No change in the salary
may be made that exceeds the percentage change in an accepted
composite price index for the period since the last change.
An increase in salary may not apply to the legislature that
enacted it.
Section 11: Other Government Employment. A member of the
legislature may not serve in any other Commonwealth government
position including other elective office or an independent
board, agency, authority or commission established by this
Constitution or by Commonwealth law. A person, having been a
member of the legislature, may not serve in any elective or
appointive Commonwealth Government position created by statute
during the term for which he or she was elected, for a period
of one year following the expiration of the term during which
the position was created.
Section 12: Immunity. A member of the legislature may not be
questioned in any other place for any written or oral
statement in the legislature and a member of the legislature
may not be subject to arrest while going to or coming from a
meeting of the legislature except for commission of treason,
a felony or breach of the peace.
Section 13: Sessions. The legislature shall meet for
organizational purposes on the second Monday of January in the
year following the regular general election at which members
of the legislature are elected and shall be a continuous body
for the two years between these organizational meetings.
Each house shall meet in regular sessions for no more than
ninety days each year, sixty days before April 1 and thirty
days after July 31 of each calendar year, and may be convened
at other times for not more than ten consecutive days upon
request by its presiding officer or by the governor. When
meeting pursuant to a call by the governor, the legislature
shall consider only those subjects described in the call.
Section 14: Organization and Procedures.
(a) Each house of the legislature shall be the final judge of
the election and qualifications of its members and the
legislature may vest in the courts the jurisdiction to
determine contested elections of members. Each house may
compel the attendance of absent members, discipline its
members and, by the affirmative vote of three-fourths of
its members, expel a member for commission of treason, a
felony, breach of the peace, or violation of the rules of
that house.
b) Each house of the legislature shall choose its presiding
officer from among its members, establish the committees
necessary for the conduct of its business, and promulgate
rules of procedure. Each house may compel the attendance
and testimony of witnesses and the production of books
and papers before the house or its committees. The
legislature shall keep a journal of its proceedings that
shall be published from day to day.
c) The meetings of the legislature and its committees shall
be public except that each house of the legislature or a
legislative committee may meet in executive session if
authorized by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the
members of the house. Final action on any legislative
matter may not be taken in executive session.
Section 15: Conduct of Members. A member of the legislature who
has a financial or personal interest in a bill before the
legislature shall disclose that interest and may not debate on
or vote on the bill.
Section 16: Budget Ceiling. There shall be a ceiling on the
budget of the legislature
a) Appropriations, or obligations and expenditures, for the
operations and activities of the legislature and
legislative bureau, other than the salaries of members of
the legislature, any payments required by law to be made
as an employer contribution to any Commonwealth government
retirement fund, and major equipment or capital
improvement projects, may not exceed in any fiscal year
the budget ceiling provided in this section.
b) Each member of each house shall receive an equal amount
within this ceiling not to exceed one hundred fifty-five
thousand dollars annually for office and related expenses
including all expenses for travel. Members may
voluntarily pool all or any part of these funds.
c) The presiding officer in each house shall receive within
this ceiling an additional amount not to exceed four
hundred thousand dollars a year to support the operations
and activities of that house, to be expended according to
the rules of that house. A portion of such amount shall
be equally distributed to the standing committees of that
house for their operations and activities.
d) The legislative bureau shall have a budget of not more
than two million dollars, for the purposes specified in
N.M.I. Const. art. II, § 17. The Bureau may not purchase,
rent, or lease vehicles for the use of individual members
of the legislature or their offices. The Bureau may not
defray travel expenses of individual members of the
legislature or their personal staff except as approved by
joint resolution of the legislature. The term major
equipment or capital improvement projects in subsection
(a) does not include the purchase, rental, or lease of
vehicles for the use of individual members of the
legislature or their offices.
e) Beginning the second Monday of January 1998, the amount of
the ceiling and all other dollar amounts stated in this
section shall be adjusted every two years by the same
percentage as the percentage change in the United States
Department of Commerce composite price index during the
two preceding fiscal years using the beginning of fiscal
year 1996 as the base.
f) No part of the appropriations for the legislature or the
legislative bureau, other than a member's salary, may be
used for personal or political activities.
g) Obligations and expenditures for the operations and
activities of the legislature for the period October 1
through the second Monday in January of a fiscal year in
which there is a regular general election may not exceed
twenty five percent of the annual spending authority
provided by law consistent with this section. This
ceiling shall apply to the various offices and activities
in the same proportions as the annual spending authority
provided by law consistent with this section.
Section 17: Legislative Bureau. There is hereby established a
legislative bureau in the Northern Marianas Commonwealth
Legislature.
a) The bureau shall be headed by a director to be appointed
by the joint leadership of the legislature consisting of
the presiding officers, vice presiding officers, floor
leaders, and the chairmen of the standing committees.
b) The director shall employ all necessary staff, other than
personal staff of the members of the legislature, pursuant
to budgetary allocations. The staff members shall include
legal counsel and other administrative staff.
c) The bureau shall provide all required services to the
legislature in connection with duties and responsibilities
during sessions and committee meetings. It shall maintain
all records, files, library and other documents of the
legislature.
d) The director may be removed by a majority of the members
of each house of the legislature with or without cause.
e) The bureau shall be free from any political harassment or
pressure.
f) [Repealed.]
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