Title 4, Economic Resources

Mechanics’ Liens. Any licensed construction contractor, or supplier of construction material for the improvement of real property, shall have a lien upon the improvement, as well as upon the interest of the owner of the improvement in the real property upon which the same is situ…

Filing Claims. (a) Notice. Any licensed construction contractor or construction material supplier claiming a lien shall apply therefore to the Superior Court. Such “Application for a Lien” shall be accompanied by a written “Notice of Lien” setting forth the alleged facts by virtu…

Record in Superior Court. The clerk of the Superior Court shall keep a book called “Notice of Completion Record” in which shall be entered a memorandum of each Notice of Completion filed and the date of filing, arranged alphabetically by the names of the owners. There shall also …

Action by Court on Lien. Upon finding probable cause for the lien to attach, the court shall set for trial the claim within 90 days unless for good cause shown the matter should be delayed. Where the trial on the merits cannot be had within the 90 day period from the attachment o…

Priority and Satisfaction. The lien shall relate to and take effect from the time of the visible commencement of operations for the improvement; it shall rank equally in priority subject to the provisos hereinafter contained with all other mechanics’ liens and shall have priority…

Enforcement. After demand and refusal of the amount due or upon neglect to pay same upon demand, the lien may be enforced by action filed in the court of the senatorial district in which the property is situated. The demand may be included in the application and notice and when s…

Judicial Remedies. The court having jurisdiction of the action to foreclosure the lien shall have all of the powers pertaining to courts of equity, and in addition may: (a) Direct the issuance of a writ of attachment or execution upon the motion of any party against the property …

Limitations. No mechanics’ liens shall be permitted upon public works or improvements owned or operated by the Commonwealth government. Ejection shall not be a remedy against a home owner where a lien is attached to the principal place of residence, except as a remedy of last res…

Unauthorized Conduct of Banking Business. It is unlawful for any unauthorized person to engage in the business of receiving deposits, discounting evidences of indebtedness, or receiving money for transmission, to represent that he is or is acting for a bank or to use an artificia…

Unauthorized Assumption of Liability. Except as expressly permitted in this division, a Commonwealth bank shall not assume liability as an insurer or as a guarantor or indorser of any security instrument or obligation in which or with respect to which it has not property interest…

Unlawful Service as Officer or Director. It is unlawful for any person to serve as an officer or director of a bank who: (a) Is an officer, director or employee of a directly competitive bank. (b) Has been convicted of an offense constituting in the jurisdiction in which the judg…

Unlawful Gratuity or Compensation; Transactions of Persons Connected With Commonwealth Bank. (a) It is unlawful for an affiliate of a bank or for an officer, director or employee of a bank or affiliate of a bank: (1) To solicit, accept or agree to accept, directly or indirectly, …

Unlawful Concealment of Transactions. It is unlawful for an officer, director, employee, attorney or agent of a bank to conceal or endeavor to conceal any transaction of the bank from any officer, director or employee of the bank or any official or employee of the department to w…

Improper Maintenance of Accounts; False or Deceptive Entries and Statements. It is unlawful for an officer, director, employee, or agent of a bank: (a) To maintain or authorize the maintenance of any account of the bank in a manner which, to his or her knowledge, does not conform…

Unlawful Payment of Penalties and Judgments Against Others, Including Directors and Officers. It is unlawful for a Commonwealth bank to pay a fine or penalty imposed by law upon any other person or any judgment against such person or to reimburse directly or indirectly any person…

Unlawful Use of Words “Safe Deposit.” It is unlawful for any person to use the words “safe deposit,” “safety deposit,” or other words deceptively similar thereto, in connection with the rental of storage space, or in the title or name under which business was done, except: (a) A …

Unlawful Operation of Bank. It is unlawful for any person to operate a bank without a valid license. Source: PL 3-104, § 1008.

Unlawful Solicitation or Negotiation for Offshore Bank Loans. It is unlawful for any person who is an officer, employee or agent in the Commonwealth of any offshore bank to actively solicit or negotiate with any person for a loan with that offshore bank. Source: PL 3-104, § 1009.

Unauthorized Disclosure of Information. (a) Except for the purpose of the performance of his or her duties, compliance with any public law, or when lawfully required to do so by any court of competent jurisdiction, no government employee or other person shall disclose any informa…

Prohibited Offshore Acts. An offshore bank may not make loans, accept deposits or borrow funds in any form from a resident of the Commonwealth or a corporation chartered by the Commonwealth. Source: PL 3-104, § 1011.

Criminal Sanctions, Violations of Rules and Orders. (a) Any corporate entity responsible for an act or omission of a duty imposed by this division may be found guilty: (1) Of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding $50,000. (2) If the act or omission was intended to defr…

Injunction. Whenever a violation of this division by a bank or an officer, director or employee thereof is threatened or impending and will cause substantial injury to the institution or to the depositors, creditors, or stockholders thereof, the Commonwealth Trial Court shall, up…

Definitions. The following definitions shall apply in this chapter. (a) “Distant site” means the place a mental or behavioral health services provider legally allowed to practice in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is located while providing mental and/or b…

Plans to Include Coverage. Each health insurance issuer that offers or issues health benefit plans delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in the CNMI on or after the effective date of this Act, shall not deny coverage for mental and/or behavioral health services on the basis …

Coverage Parity. A health benefit plan delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in the CNMI shall cover mental and/or behavioral health services delivered by telehealth to the same extent the health benefit plan would cover the services if delivered by an inperson encounter. So…

Reimbursement Parity. For purposes of reimbursement and payment, a health insurance issuer shall compensate the mental and/or behavioral health services provider for services delivered by telehealth on the same basis and at the same payment rate the health insurer would apply to …

Unrestricted Patient Origination. A health insurance issuer or health benefit plan shall not impose any unique conditions for coverage of mental health services delivered by telehealth mental health. A health insurance issuer shall not impose any originating site restrictions, no…

Unrestricted Distant Site. A health insurance issuer or health benefit plan shall not place restrictions on the mental and/or behavioral health services provider's distant site that are more restrictive than what is required under applicable state and/or federal law. Source: PL 2…

Cost-Shifting Prohibited. A health insurance issuer or health benefit plan may charge a deductible, copayment, or co-insurance for mental health services provided by telehealth so long as it does not exceed the deductible, co-payment, or co-insurance applicable to an in-person en…

Utilization Review Procedures. Decisions denying coverage of mental and/or behavioral health services provided by telehealth shall be subject to the same utilization review procedures as decisions denying coverage of services provided by an in-person encounter. A health insurance…

Same Provider Network. A health insurance issuer may not limit coverage of mental and/or behavioral health services by telehealth to only those providers who are members of the health benefit plan’s telehealth narrow network. A health benefit plan must cover telehealth mental and…

In-Person Mental Health Services Not Required. Neither the health insurance issuer nor the health benefit plan shall require the presence of a mental and/or behavioral health services provider at the patient’s physical location. Only the mental and/or behavioral health services p…

Patient-Provider Relationship and Informed Consent Established by Telehealth. To establish informed consent from the patient, the provider must: (a) Identify the patient and ask the patient to identify where they reside and the originating site; (b) Disclose the provider’s identi…

Medicaid and Other Public Health Assistance. Consistent with Title 19 U.S.C. § 1902(j) and the waiver of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant thereto, and state and federal law, the Medicaid program managed by the CNMI Medicaid Agency, and any oth…

Standard of Care. Diagnosis, treatment, and consultation recommendations, including discussions regarding the risk and benefits of the patient's treatment options, made by telehealth are held to the same standard of care or practice standards as are applicable to in-person mental…

Rules and Regulations. The CNMI Insurance Commissioner (“Commissioner”) may adopt regulations as necessary to implement this Act. Within one year of the effective date of the Act, the Commonwealth Medicaid Agency shall submit its amendments to the State Plan and may promulgate re…

Enforcement. The Commissioner shall enforce this Act consistent with Title 4, Division 7, including, but not limited to, issuing administrative orders and/or bringing enforcement proceedings under 4 CMC §§ 7106-7107. Each instance of noncompliance may be treated as a separate vio…

Short Title. This Act shall be known as “The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Anti-Violence Leave Act of 2013.” Source: PL 18-31 § 1 (Jan. 10, 2014), modified. Commission Comment: The Commission moved the period at the end of the section inside the quotation mark purs…

Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) The term “domestic or family violence” as described in 8 CMC § 1902(a). (b) The term “sexual assault” as defined in 7 CMC § 3313(b). (c) The term “stalking” as defined in 6 CMC §§ …

Discrimination Prohibited. (a) An employer may not discharge or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or teen dating violence for complying with any and all court orders or subpoena or taking ti…

Additional Requirements for Large Employers. (a) In addition to the requirements and prohibitions imposed on employees* pursuant to 4 CMC § 9802, an employer with 25 or more employees may not discharge or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against an employee who is a victim…

Disposition of Fines. Nonwithstanding any laws or provisions to the contrary, all fines and penalties collected pursuant to this chapter shall be collected and deposited into an account in the CNMI Treasury, and divided specifically into 1) one subaccount created by the Departmen…