Update on request to Ways & Means Committee to exercise legislative authority
I have been informed by Ways & Means Chair Rep. Ray Yumul, that the members of the Ways & Means Committee voted on Friday, September 11, 2009 not to take any action at this time on my request to exercise their legislative authority to obtain certain financial records related to the Governor's federalization lawsuit. The request had been submitted as a formal House Communication during the House session held on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 and is attached in this email. According to Rep. Yumul, the members preferred to complete their work on the budget for FY 2010 first, and to reconsider my request for the financial records related to the ongoing lawsuit at a later time.
The Ways & Means Committee members who attended yesterday's meeting were: Reps. Ray Yumul (Chair), Dave Apatang, Ralph Torres, Justo Quitugua, Stanley Torres, Diego Benavente, and Ray Tebuteb. Rep. Rosemond Santos came in late; Reps. Edwin Aldan and Vic Hocog were absent. The meeting was unrecorded and held behind closed doors, and offers one more example for why the Open Government Act should apply to the Legislature. Since I was, after all, the House member requesting Ways & Means Committee action, I had asked Rep. Yumul to at least notify me as to when and where the meeting would be held. I was not notified, however, and according to Rep. Yumul, the members had actually declined to invite me.
I am disappointed, of course, by the decision of the committee to defer action. I do appreciate the importance of preparing a sound and balanced budget for FY 2010, and for that reason would expect that my colleagues would want to carefully examine the implications of this costly public lawsuit not only for the current fiscal year, but for the next one as well. It is clear that they do not. But less clear is why they do not -- especially in light of the facts that 1) the legislature had actually rejected the administration's request to appropriate funds for the lawsuit in the first place last year; and 2) the administration has explicitly acknowledged the right and responsibility of the legislature to examine the records in question.
Rep. Yumul has stated that a written report on the committee's decision today is forthcoming. The committee report should shed light on the members' rationale for taking no action on my request. Frankly, however, I expect that the report will instead raise more questions than answers -- much like the incomplete documents that have been turned over thus far by the adminstration.
These past ten months, taxpayers and citizens of the CNMI have rightfully been asking, "What is the administration hiding?" with respect to financial records for a lawsuit that has been filed in their name. Now they may also ask why their own elected representatives are apparently unwilling to find out.
I plan to appeal to the presiding officers of the House, and will also submit follow-up requests to the administration pursuant to the Open Government Act.
