TITLE 1: GOVERNMENT
DIVISION 2: EXECUTIVE BRANCH
§ 20171. Office of Planning and Development: Establishment. (a) There is established within the Office of the Governor a Commonwealth Office of Planning and Development. (b) The Commonwealth Office of Planning and Development shall be administered by a Director for Planning and Development who shall be appointed by the Governor and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Director shall be required to analyze and interpret development trends and information of all kinds, to appraise and coordinate planning programs, and supervise the execution of the responsibilities of the Advisory Council for Planning and Development in accordance with the policies set forth in this article. (c) The Director shall be responsible for the administration of this article and shall supervise the staff of the Office of Planning and Development which, in addition to its regular duties.* (d) The Director shall have the following qualifications: (1) Bachelor’s degree from a United States accredited university in planning, architecture, engineering, business administration, public administration, or related field and at least seven years of administrative management experience; or (2) Master’s degree or higher from a United States accredited university in planning, architecture, engineering, business, public administration, or related field and at least four years of administrative management experience. *So in original. Source: PL 20-20 § 3 (Oct. 6, 2017), modified. Commission Comment: PL 20-20 included the following Short Title and Findings and Purpose sections: Short Title. This Act may be cited as the “CNMI Planning and Development Act of 2017. Findings and Purpose. The legislature finds the CNMI is presently going through an economic growth and new developments are widespread in the CNMI. However, the CNMI does not have a master plan outlining comprehensive land use, the establishment of communities, schools, roads, and infrastructure, and the development economic districts and businesses. Currently, individuals, developers, and investors are constructing homes, buildings, hotels, apartments and other major developments without the benefit of a “CNMI Comprehensive Sustainable Development Plan,” to ensure that such new developments can be accommodated by the current infrastructure of the islands and will not unduly burden such infrastructure in the years come. In addition to the infrastructure, the CNMI should have a Comprehensive Sustainable Development Plan that ensures the protection of the scarce resources including land, natural resources, and human resources.
TITLE 1: GOVERNMENT
DIVISION 2: EXECUTIVE BRANCH Accordingly, Legislature finds that there is a need to improve the planning process in the CNMI to increase the effectiveness of government and private actions, to improve coordination among different agencies and levels of government, to provide for wise use of the CNMI’s resources and to guide the future development of the CNMI. The Legislature further finds that improving the planning process in the CNMI means utilizing the existing expertise within the various CNMI planning agencies as well as obtaining and incorporating information from the public and the business communities regarding the nature, extent, and areas of most desirable growth and conservation. There should also an Office of Planning and Development that serves as clearinghouse for all information related to development, planning, and resource use in the CNMI. The purpose of this article is to establish a CNMI Comprehensive Sustainable Development Plan that shall serve as a guide for the future long-range development of the CNMI using and improving existing plans, maps and other resources; identify the goals, objectives, policies, and priorities for the CNMI; provide a basis for determining priorities and allocating limited resources, such as public funds, services, human resources, land, energy, water, and other resources; improve coordination of federal, and CNMI plans, policies, programs, projects, and regulatory activities; and to establish a system for plan formulation and program coordination to provide for an integration of all major CNMI and individual island activities. The Commission struck a comma after “Governor” in (a), “(7)” after “seven” in (d)(1) and “(4)” after “four” in (d)(2), and inserted serial commas in (b) and (d)(2) pursuant to 1 CMC § 3806(g). The Commission changed capitalization in (d)(1) and (d)(2) for the purpose of conformity pursuant to 1 CMC § 3806(f).