TITLE 1: GOVERNMENT
DIVISION 8: PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT
§ 8116. Civil Service Commission: Powers and Duties. The Commission shall re present the pub lic interest in assuring compliance with basic policy concerning personnel administration and insuring that the integrity of the sy stem is preserved. To this end, the Commission shall have the following powers and duties: (a) To prepa re a co mprehensive personnel m anagement plan and pr oposed personnel policies of the Commonwealth government, and submit copies thereof to the governor and the legislature; (b) To oversee the operat ion of the O ffice of Personnel Managem ent, and employ such staff as is necessary to carry out the purposes of this part. E mployees of the Commission and the Office of Personnel Management shall be in the civil service; (c) To hear and decide appeals of an y person aggrieved by any action of the Office of Personnel Managem ent or other managem ent or any employee for disciplinary action, suspension, dem otion or dismissal from the ci vil service. In deciding an appeal, the Commission may grant such relief as it deem s appropriate, including an award of costs and attorney fees. The Commissi on may utilize the services of qualified hearing officer s if the services are deemed essential by the Commission. (d) To issue subpoenas and ad minister oaths to witnesses in any matter pending before the Commission; and (e) To perform any other lawful acts required by law or deemed by it to be necessary to carry out its duties under this part. Source: PL 1-9, § 3; amended by PL 3-65, § 2; modified; PL 12 -54, §§ 2 and 3; PL 12-54 repealed by PL 13-1, § 2; repealed and reenacted by PL 17-80 § 3 (8116) (August 31, 2012), modified. Commission Comment: The Commission correcte d capitalization and made the following changes to this section p ursuant to 1 CMC § 3806: (1) substituted “and employee such staff is necessary to carry out the purposed of this act” with “and employ such staff as is necessary to carry out the purposes of this part” in subsection (b); (2) substituted “Office of Personn el Management of other management” with “Office of Personnel Management or other management” in subsection (c); and replaced “this act” with “this part” in subsection (e). Executive Order 94-3, the “Second Reorganization Plan of 1994” (effective August 23, 1994), reorganized the Commonwealth government executive branch, changed agency names and official titles and effected numerous other revisions. According to Executive Order 94-3, § 214: Section 214. Personnel Management. (a) There is hereby established an O ffice of Personnel Management, which shall have at its head a Director of Personnel, who shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate and who shall have the rank of a special assistant to the Governor. (b) The Personnel Office is abolished and, except as otherwise provided in this section or in Section 307, its functions transferred to the Office of Personnel Management.
TITLE 1: GOVERNMENT
DIVISION 8: PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT (c) Boards and commissions (including the Civil Service Commission for its o wn employees), the Marianas Public Lan d Trust, th e Board of Education/Public School System, the Northern Marianas College, and the Legislative and Judicial Branches (for their administrative staffs) may, to the extent of budgetary resources, retain or establish personnel management functions within their organizations, or they may, by agreement, arrange with the Office of Personnel Management to perform such functions on their behalf. (d) The following functions of the Personnel Office sh all be retained by the Civil Service Commission (which may establish an a ppropriate administrative structure for such purpose) and may be delegated in whole or in part to any or all of the appointing authorities: (1) Exemption of positions from Civil Service classifications. (2) Development, evaluation, and i mprovement of t he Personnel Service Performance Standards and Appraisal System. (3) Recommendation and promulgation of regulations relating to Personnel matters. (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the function of taking any personnel action is, subject to the policies set forth by the Civil Service Commission, vested in the respective appointing authorities and shall not require further approval. Such actions shall be documented by the Office of Personnel Management (or by any office or em ployee conducting a personnel management functions pursuant to subsection (b) of this section); and a copy of such documentation forwarded to the Civil Service Commission. (f) The functions of the Personnel Office relating to training programs for government employees are t ransferred to the Northern Marianas College. The Board of Regents of t he Northern Marianas College shall consult as n ecessary with the Director of Pe rsonnel regarding such programs. Government agencies and instrumentalities may, after consultation with the College, supplement such programs as budgetary resources may permit. (g) Nothing in this section sh all be taken to derogate from the constitutional authority of the Civil Service Commission. The full text of Ex ecutive Order 94-3 is set forth in the Commission comment to 1 CMC § 2001. PL 12-54 became law via override on June 18, 2001. PL 12-54 contained findings, repealer and reenactment, administrative provisions, severability, and savings clause provisions. According to PL 12-54: Section 1. Findings. The Legislature finds that it is in the best interest of the CNMI government agencies and departments to repeal Sections 214 and 509 of Executive Order 94-3 and restore the provisions of the law so affected. Placing the Office of Personnel Management within the Civil Service Commission would reestablish a non-partisan and independent civil service system as requi red by Article XX of the Commonwealth Constitution. Section 2. Repealer and Reenactment. Sections 214 and 509 of Executive Order 94-3 are hereby repealed and t he provisions of law affected by Sections 214 and 50 9 are hereby reenacted and restored as they existed prior to the effective date of Executive Order 94-3.
TITLE 1: GOVERNMENT
DIVISION 8: PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT Section 3. Administrative Provisions. (a) The provisions of Secti on 2 shall not result in th e reduction or elimination, demotion, or displacement of any positions within the Civil Service Commission nor the Office of Personnel Management. (b) All funds, records, property and personnel of the Office of Personnel Management are transferred to the Civil Service Commission, Personnel Office. (c) The Personnel Office is re named the Office of Personnel Management. PL 13-1 took effect February 13, 2002. Contained in PL 13-1 were the following findings and purpose, repealer, reenactment, transfer, and severability clauses: Section 1. Findings and Purpose. The Legislature finds that staff positions under the Office of the Governor, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Office of the Resident Representative to the United States, and the Municipal Councils for each Senat orial District ri ghtfully should be exempt from the civil service. For obvious policy reasons , each administration should be allowed the discretion and flexibility to determine its own staffing requirements to m ore efficiently and effectively meet its g oals and objectives. Along with this, the term “executive position” should be de fined to clarify the positions that are intended to be exempt from civil service under 1 CMC 8131 (a)(6). The Legislature finds that the Office of Personnel Management should be returned to the con trol of t he Office of the Governor for purposes of administrative efficiency. Section 2. Repealer. PL 12-54 is hereby repealed in it entirely [sic]. Section 3. Re-enactment. Executive Order 94-3, Section 214 is hereby reinstated in its entirety. ... Section 5. Transition. Any Commonwealth government employee who loses civil service status as a result of this Act shall, for a period of three years, have reemployment rights for any civil service position for which he or sh e is q ualified, and shall be entitled to transfer in to such employment pursuant to applicable rules, regulations and procedure. Section 6. Severability. If any p rovision of this Act or the application of any such provision to any p erson or circumstance should be held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Act or the application of its provisions to persons or circumstances other than those to which it is held invalid shall not be affected thereby.