Title 4, Economic Resources

Judicial Review. (a) A person aggrieved by an act or omission of the Corporation shall obtain review pursuant to 4 CMC § 8448. (b) An appeal shall not stay the effective date of any schedule of utility rates. Source: PL 4-47, § 1 (§ 8158); amended by EO No. 2006-04, § 4(8158); (a…

Establishment of a Water Catchment Loan Revolving Fund Program. There is hereby established a Water Catchment Tank Loan Revolving Fund Program to be administered by the Commonwealth Development Authority, whose duties and responsibilities shall include but are not limited to: (a)…

Authorization to Fund the Water Catchment Tank Loan Revolving Fund Program. There is hereby authorized the aggregate sum of $1,000,000 from the Commonwealth Development Authority funds to be used exclusively for loans to qualified individuals in the purchase and installation of a…

Purpose and Eligibility. (a) Moneys disbursed under the revolving fund shall only be for residential use and specifically for the purchase and installation of a water catchment tank and booster pump. (b) In order to qualify, the applicant shall meet the following eligibility requ…

Loan Amounts and Conditions. A maximum amount of loan per applicant per house shall not exceed $5,000, depending on the demonstrated need and the ability to pay of the applicant. An applicant shall receive not more than one loan per water catchment tank including the booster pump…

Terms of Payment and Interest Rate. The payment terms of the loan shall be for a period not to exceed four years at a fixed interest rate not to exceed three percent. Source: PL 9-42, § 3 (§ 8165).

Implementation of Loan Program. The Commonwealth Development Authority shall have 60 days following June 20, 1995, to promulgate rules and regulations for the management and repayment of the loan program. Source: PL 9-42, § 3 (§ 8166).

Definitions. As used in this article: (a) “Existing residence” shall mean a residential dwelling that is ready and suitable for human occupancy; (b) “Similarly related electrical equipment” shall mean service switches, fuses, breakers, and similar electrical devices or installati…

Electrical Service Connections: Exterior Breaker Box Not Required. The CUC shall not refuse, for absence of an exterior or external N3R-100A, 2 PST fused or circuit breaker or similarly related electrical equipment, electrical connection to any existing residence for which there …

CUC to Publish Notice of Electrical Equipment Requirements for Electrical Service Connection. The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation shall give at least 90 days advance public notice of all electrical equipment and service entrance equipment which the owner or occupant of a resid…

Release of Liability. The owners and occupants of residential dwellings that qualify for an electrical service connection, as the result of the operation of 4 CMC § 8172, shall, as a condition of connection, sign a written release form to be provided by the CUC. This release form…

Definitions. For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply: (a) “Commercial Farmer” means a person actively engaged in the business of producing agricultural products in the Commonwealth for commercial purposes. (b) “Commercial Rancher” means a person actively e…

Special Water Rates. The Commonwealth Utility Corporation is hereby authorized to set agricultural water usage rates for commercial farmers and commercial ranchers at the rate of twenty five cents per one thousand U.S. gallons of water in areas where there is twenty-four hour wat…

Rules and Regulations. The Commonwealth Utilities Corporations is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this Act. Source: PL 13-40, § 4.

Private Sector Assistance Agreement (PSAA) Procurement Process. (a) Bids only. The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (herein “CUC”) shall not enter into any form of performance management contract, franchise agreement, or private sector assistance agreement unless the agreement …

Private Sector Assistance Agreement Review. Notwithstanding 1 CMC § 9101 et seq., 1 CMC § 7811 et seq., 2 CMC § 2301 et seq., or any other provision of law: (a) Review of procurement decision in general. (1) An aggrieved person may seek review of a CUC procurement for goods or se…

Private Sector Procurement, Employment and Agency Status. A business that is a party to a PSAA remains a private sector entity and shall not be subject to: (a) Treatment as a public sector agency or instrumentality by virtue of its contract and scope of work; provided that CUC ma…

Title to Property; Easement Rights (a) CUC is hereby granted, without further consideration, the right of perpetual access to and use of all easements held by the Commonwealth through any agency, entity, or other instrumentality that allow for public utility services. (b) CUC sha…

Protection of Commonwealth Utility Corporation Employees Serving under Private Sector Assistance Agreement Management. (a) CUC and PUC, as the case may be, shall ensure that a PSAA protects the jobs of current CUC employees by allowing such employees to continue serving the utili…

Renewable Energy Purchases from Commonwealth Utility Corporation Customers. (a) Pursuant to Public Law 15-87 [4 CMC §§ 8521-8573], a group of eligible customer-generators who aggregate their entitlements to sell renewable energy to the CUC power system and co-locate the generatin…

82101 DIVISION 8: UTILITIES § 82101. Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation Commercial Rate. Notwithstanding any law or regulation to the contrary, the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation shall charge the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation, as established in 3 CMC § 2823, the commer…

Late Fees and Penalties. All late fees and penalties shall cease upon this Act becoming law. Provided, further this provision shall not be retroactively effective. Source: PL 23-30, § 2 (Nov. 18, 2024).

Short Title. This chapter shall be known as the Seamens’ Protection Act. Source: 19 TTC § 201, modified. Commission Comment: This chapter includes provisions which may have been preempted by federal law. See Covenant §§ 502(b), 503(b) and (c), and 505.

Definitions. In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall be applicable: (a) “Commonwealth vessel” means any vessel registered with the Commonwealth government; (b) “Crew” means collectively the persons, other than officers and the maste…

Certificate of Service. (a) The master shall sign and give to a seaman discharged from a vessel, either on discharge or on payment of the seaman’s wages, a certificate of service in a form approved by the director, specifying the period of the seaman’s service and the time and pl…

Minimum Age for Employment. (a) Children under the age of 16 years may not be employed on Commonwealth vessels engaged in foreign trade, except on vessels on which only members of the same family are employed, school ships, or training ships. (b) The master shall keep a register …

Wages: Generally. (a) Wages shall commence on the day specified and agreed to in the shipping articles or at the time of presence on board the vessel for the purpose of commencing work, whichever first occurs, and shall terminate on the day of discharge or termination of the arti…

Wages: Unjustifiable Discharge. Any seaman who has signed shipping articles and is afterward discharged before the commencement of the voyage or before one month’s wages are earned, without fault on the part of the seaman justifying such discharge and without consent, shall be en…

Stowaways. A stowaway signing the vessel’s articles is entitled to wages, but not to maintenance and cure as provided in this chapter. The master shall discharge the stowaway at the first convenient port of call. Nothing in this section shall require a stowaway to be signed on sh…

Grounds for Discharge. The master may discharge a seaman for justifiable cause, including any of the following grounds: (a) Unjustifiable failure to report on board at times and dates as may be specified by the master; (b) Incompetence to perform duties for which the seaman has r…

Advance and Allotment of Wages. (a) It is unlawful to pay any seaman wages in advance of the time when they are actually earned, or to pay advance wages or make any order or note or other evidence of the indebtedness therefor to any other person, or to pay any person for the ship…

Wages and Clothing Exempt from Attachment; Assignment of Wages. The wages and clothing of a seaman shall not be subject to attachment or arrestment from any court; and assignment or sale of wages or of salvage made prior to the accruing thereof shall not bind the seaman, except t…

Vacation Allowances and Holidays. (a) Every master and seaman is entitled after 12 months of continuous service on a vessel or for the same employer to receive and shall take an annual paid vacation equivalent to: (1) In the case of masters and officers, not less than 12 days bas…

Agreements as to Loss of Lien or Right to Wages. No seaman shall by any agreement forfeit his lien upon the ship or be deprived of any remedy for the recovery of his wages to which he would otherwise have been entitled, and every stipulation by which any seaman consents to abando…

Wages not Dependent on Freight Earned. No right to wages on the part of any seaman shall be dependent on the earning of freight by the vessel; provided, that nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any profit-sharing plan by which officers and crew are to be compens…

Wages, Maintenance, and Benefits for Sick and Injured Seamen. (a) In the event of disabling sickness or injury while a seaman is on board a vessel under signed shipping articles, or off the vessel pursuant to an actual mission assigned to him by, the authority of the master, the …

Wrongful Death. Notwithstanding anything contained in title 7, division 2, chapter 1 (commencing at 7 CMC § 2101), whenever the death of a seaman, resulting from an injury, is caused by wrongful act, omission, neglect or default occurring on board a vessel, the personal represent…

Death on Board: Procedure Generally. (a) In the event of a death on board a vessel, an entry shall be made into the vessel’s logbook by the master and one of the officers. The master shall also report the death to the authorities at the first port of arrival and shall submit a st…

Death on Board: Issuance of Death Certificate. Where a death has been reported in accordance with the requirements of 4 CMC § 9143, the office of the director shall issue a death certificate containing the particulars set forth in 4 CMC § 9143 upon the request of anyone having a …

Death on Board: Burial Expenses. In the case of death of a seaman occurring on board the vessel or in case of a death occurring on shore, if, at the time, the seaman was entitled to medical care and maintenance at the shipowner’s expense, the shipowner shall be liable to defray r…

Working Hours; Overtime. In relation to the members of the crew on a vessel engaged in foreign trade: (a) The normal hours of work in port and at sea shall be eight per day; provided, that Saturdays and Sundays shall be included as weekdays; (b) Work performed over and above the …

Repatriation; Rights Generally. (a) Any seaman who is put ashore at a port other than the one where the seaman signed the shipping articles and who is put ashore for reasons for which the seaman is not responsible, shall be returned as a crew member or otherwise, but without expe…

Repatriation; Loss of Right. A seaman shall forfeit his right of repatriation in case of: (a) Desertion; (b) Entering into a new agreement with the same owner after discharge; (c) Entering into a new agreement with another owner within one week after discharge; (d) Criminal offen…

Offenses Against the Internal Order of the Vessel. (a) Any seaman on a Commonwealth vessel who commits any of the following offenses may, in addition to any criminal penalties provided for in this chapter, be punished by the master as follows: (1) For neglecting or refusing witho…

Corporal Punishment. Flogging and all other forms of corporal punishment are hereby prohibited on board any vessel, and any master who violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Source: 19 TTC § 223.

Drunkenness; Neglect of Duty. Whoever, being a master, seaman, or other person on any vessel, by willful breach of duty or by reason of drunkenness does any act tending to the immediate loss or destruction of, or serious damage to, the vessel or its cargo, or tending immediately …