TITLE 1: GOVERNMENT DIVISION 11: POLITICAL STATUS
§ 11103. Powers and Duties of the Commission. The Commission shall have the following powers and duties: (a) To carry out the purpose of this chapter, as fully described in PL 19-63 § 3; and (b) To review and examine carefully whether the people of the Northern Mariana Islands, under the present political status as a “Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America,” pursuant to the Covenant, meets their hope and aspiration to govern themselves; and (c) To determine whether such political status established by the Covenant complies with the mandate of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1541, Principal VII; and (d) To examine matters that negatively impact the political relationship with the United States pursuant to the Covenant; and (e) To examine the present political status of the former Trust Territory Districts in Micronesia of what is now: The Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshalls, and the Federated States of Micronesia (Pohnpei, Kosrae, Chuuk, and Yap) for possible political status options for the Northern Mariana Islands; and (f) To review the current status of the U.S. Territories, such as Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, in such a way that will help the Commission to evaluate the practices of the United States in their administration and control over these territories and how such practices relate to the Northern Mariana Islands; and (g) To conduct political education on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota with regard to the Northern Mariana Islands’ political relationship with the United States; and (h) To present what other political status options are available for consideration such as independence or free association; and (i) To submit periodic reports to the Legislature concerning its activities pursuant to this chapter, no less frequently than every three months once it becomes operational, and to submit the Final Report on its findings and recommendation(s) on such political status option to the Legislature eighteen calendar months but not later than twenty-one calendar months from the date upon which the Commission becomes operational. (j) To conduct its last public education and hearings on each of the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, and shall allow the public the opportunity within a reasonable time to comment upon such findings and recommendations on such political status option(s) three months before the Commission’s Final Report is submitted to the Legislature. Source: PL 19-63 § 4(103) (Aug. 26, 2016), modified. Commission Comment: The Commission numbered this section pursuant to 1 CMC § 3806(a). The Commission substituted “this chapter” for “this Act”
TITLE 1: GOVERNMENT DIVISION 11: POLITICAL STATUS in (a) and (i) pursuant to 1 CMC § 3806(d). The Commission inserted a comma after “Chuuk” and changed “option” to “options” in (e); changed the semicolon after “Territories” to a comma, inserted a comma after “Samoa”, changed “in a such way” to “in such a way”, and changed “relates” to “relate” in (f); inserted a comma after “Tinian”, changed “as” to “with”, and inserted an apostrophe after “Islands” in (g); inserted “are” after “options” in (h); and inserted a hyphen between “twenty” and “one” and inserted “which” after “upon” in (i) pursuant to 1 CMC § 3806(g). The Commission changed the capitalization of “independence” and “free association” in (h) for the purpose of conformity pursuant to 1 CMC § 3806(f). The Commission struck the figures “(18)” and “(21)” in (i) as a mere repetition of written words pursuant to 1 CMC § 3806(e).