Title 1, Government

Composition. The youth congress shall be composed of members to be known as senators, to be elected from private and public high schools as follows: (a) Each private and public high school, with a student population of 20 or more that wishes to participate, shall have one senator…

Eligibility of Senators and Voters. (a) A United States citizen residing in the CNMI between the age of fourteen and eighteen shall be eligible to vote for a candidate for senator provided that such person is duly registered to vote in his or her respective school and has not bee…

Term. (a) The term of each member shall be two years. (b) Any member who graduates from high school may continue to serve the balance of his or her term. Any member who drops out of high school shall automatically forfeit the balance of his or her term. (c) Any member who is outs…

Elections. (a) The general election for the youth congress shall be held on the first Monday in March, and every two years thereafter. The elections for school senators shall be conducted by the school principals at the schools the eligible voters attend, and at which the voters …

Petitions. Candidates for election shall be nonpartisan and all candidates must obtain at least 15 signatures by petition in their schools from individuals qualified to vote under 1 CMC § 1605. Source: PL 8-27, § 11, modified; repealed and re-enacted by PL 17-22 § 3(1608) (Octobe…

Vacancies. Each vacancy shall be filled by the candidate who received the next highest vote in that school, except that no person filling a vacancy shall hold office longer than the remainder of the term for which his or her predecessor was elected. If there is no candidate to fi…

Sessions. (a) Regular sessions of the youth congress may be held every two months on the third Saturday of the month, exclusive of holidays, for one day, commencing the third Saturday in April. Additional session days, but not more than three days, are permitted each year. (b) Fo…

Organization and Qualification of Members. The youth congress shall be the judge of the selection and qualification of its members. It shall elect officers, consisting of speaker, vice speaker, legislative secretary and floor leader. It shall establish standing and special commit…

Quorum. The quorum of the youth congress shall equal one-half of its members plus one. No bill or resolution shall be considered passed unless, a quorum being present, a majority of the members present and voting so indicate by affirmative vote. Source: PL 8-27, § 16, modified; r…

Operations. The Legislative Bureau may provide staff services to the youth congress. The youth congress is authorized to employ on a full-time or part-time basis staff consisting of a secretary and other essential personnel subject to the availability of funds. The youth congress…

Expenditure Authority. The Director of the Legislative Bureau shall be the expenditure authority of the funds appropriated to the Youth Congress in consultation with the Speaker of the Youth Congress. Source: PL 8-27, § 19; repealed and re-enacted by PL 17-22 § 3(1614) (October 1…

Expenditure Control. Except as provided for under 1 CMC § 1616, under no circumstances shall any funds appropriated to the youth congress be expended for car rentals; hotel room and/or facility rentals; floral and/or all other decorative items; and food catering in connection wit…

Compensation. Members of the youth congress shall not be compensated for each regular session meeting they attend. Members from Rota and Tinian shall be provided air transportation and subsistence allowance at the established Commonwealth government rates. Source: PL 8-27, § 20; …

Appointment as Non-Voting Honorary Members of Boards and Commissions. Notwithstanding the requirements of 1 CMC § 2901(a), the Speaker of the Youth Congress shall appoint individual members of the Youth Congress to serve as non-voting honorary members of each Commonwealth board a…

Office of the Public Auditor. There is in the Commonwealth government an office of the Public Auditor to be headed by the Public Auditor. The office of the Public Auditor is established as an independent agency of the Commonwealth government to audit the receipt, possession, and …

Public Auditor: Appointment and Removal. (a) The Governor shall appoint the Public Auditor with the advice and consent of each house of the legislature. No person may be appointed Public Auditor unless that person is a certified public accountant and has a minimum of five years e…

Public Auditor: Duties. (a) Not later than June 30 of each year, the Public Auditor shall transmit to the Governor and to the presiding officer of each house of the legislature the annual report for the previous fiscal year required by N.M.I. Const. art. III, § 12. The report sha…

Public Auditor: Special Duties to Prevent Fraud, Waste and Abuse of Public Funds. (a) The office of the Public Auditor shall specially act to prevent and detect fraud, waste and abuse in the collection and expenditure of all public funds. The Public Auditor may audit any transact…

Public Auditor: Staff. (a) The Public Auditor may appoint and remove such employees as he or she deems necessary to perform the duties of the office. These employees may include assistant public auditors, accountants, auditors, financial management analysts, investigators, attorn…

Public Auditor: Power to Hire Outside Specialists. (a) The Public Auditor may obtain the services of independent certified public accountants, qualified management consultants, or other professional persons, as the Public Auditor deems necessary to assist in carrying out his or h…

Establishment of Coordinating Group. (a) An Interagency Audit Coordinating Advisory Group (“Coordinating Group”) is established consisting of the presiding officer and minority leader of each house of the legislature, the Director of Finance, and the Special Assistant for Plannin…

Annual Report. The Public Auditor shall report on his or her activities and findings to the legislature and the Governor at least once every calendar year, and this report shall be made public promptly. Source: PL 3-91, § 210.

Public Auditor Compensation. Notwithstanding any provision of law, the Public Auditor shall receive an annual salary not to exceed $100,000.00. Source: PL 12-65, § 4. Commission Comment: With respect to PL 12-65, see the comment to 1 CMC § 2305.

Reprogramming Authority. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Public Auditor is authorized to reprogram funds appropriated to its office to accommodate the increase in the Public Auditor’s salary pursuant to Section 2309 of this Chapter. Source: PL 12-6…

The Citizen-Centric Report. (a) The Office of the Public Auditor shall be responsible for coordinating overseeing* the Citizen-Centric Report program established by this section. (b) Timeline for Submission. No later than 30 calendar days after each fiscal year, every secretary, …

Admission to Practice: Persons Previously Admitted to Practice. Persons admitted to practice before the High Court of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands on or before January 9, 1978, persons admitted to practice before the Commonwealth Trial Court prior to May 2, 1989, an…

Admission to Practice: Other Persons. Any other person may be certified for admission to practice before the Commonwealth Supreme Court upon full compliance with the Rules of Admission of the Supreme Court. Source: PL 10-26, § 4 (repealing PL 1-5, ch. 6, § 2, modified, as amended…

Admission to Practice: Government and Public Practice. (a) Any attorney who: (1) Is licensed to practice in a state, territory, commonwealth, or possession of the United States; (2) Is in good standing; (3) Has graduated from a school accredited by the American Bar Association or…

Certificates of Admission. The Supreme Court may impose a fee to cover the cost of printing and issuing certificates of admission to practice. Source: PL 10-26, § 5. Commission Comment: The Commission corrected the section number of PL 10-26 referred to in the source note; PL 10-…

GENERAL PROVISIONS § 601. Capital of the CNMI. The official capital of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall be the island of Saipan. Source: PL 19-02 § 2 (July 28, 2015). Commission Comment: PL 19-02 contained the following findings and purpose section in additi…

Election Contests: Recount. (a) Any Commonwealth voter may contest an election for any of the following reasons: (1) The person declared elected to an office will not be eligible for that office at the beginning of his term. (2) The candidate has given to an election official any…

Election Contests: Actual Prejudice Required. (a) No irregularity or improper conduct in the proceedings of the election may void an election result, unless the irregularity or misconduct resulted in a defendant being declared either elected or tied for election. (b) [repealed] S…

Election Contest: Written Complaint. (a) When a voter contests any election he shall file with the Commonwealth Superior Court a written complaint setting forth specifically: (1) The name of the contestant; (2) That he is a voter of the election district in which the contested el…

Election Contest: Answer, Summons, Subpoena. (a) Within five days after personal receipt of the complaint by the defendant, an answer or any responsive pleading or motion shall be filed with the court. The court shall thereupon set a date for the election contest hearing not less…

Election Contest: Court Hearing; Recount. (a) At the hearing the ballots shall be recounted in the presence of all parties, where it appears from the complaint that actual prejudice occurred making a recount necessary for the proper determination of the contest. If two or more st…

Election Contest: Judgment of the Court. If it is adjudged that a person other than the defendant has the largest number of legal votes cast in any election contest, the court shall declare that person elected. Source: Repealed and reenacted by PL 12-18, § 2 (6606).

Election Contest: Certificate of Election. (a) Upon the expiration of the time for appeal, the person declared elected by the court is entitled to a certificate of election. If a certificate has not already been issued to him by the Commission, the Commission shall immediately ma…

Election Contests: Costs. (a) If the proceedings under this section are dismissed for insufficient evidence or for want of prosecution, or the election is confirmed by the court, judgment shall be rendered against the contestant, for costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees, in favor…

Election Contest: Appeal. Any party aggrieved by the judgment of the Commonwealth superior Court may appeal to the Supreme Court of the Northern Mariana Islands as in other cases, except that from the day of judgment, the notice of appeal shall be filed within three (3) days, the…

Election Contest: Failure to Appeal from Court Judgment. Whenever an election is reversed by the judgment of the Commonwealth Superior Court, and no appeal is taken within three (3) days thereafter, the certification, if any has been issued, is void and the office is filled by th…

Rescission of Budget Authority. (a) Whenever the Governor determines that all or any part of any budget authority will not be required to carry out the full objectives or scope of programs for which it is provided, or that such budget authority should be rescinded for fiscal poli…

Deferral of Budget Authority. (a) Whenever the Governor or any person having administrative control over any appropriation (other than an appropriation to the judicial or legislative branches) proposes a deferral of budget authority (including the creation of any reserve pursuant…

Supplementary Messages. If any information contained in a special message transmitted under 1 CMC §§ 7601 or 7602 is subsequently revised, the Governor shall transmit to both houses of the legislature a supplementary message stating and explaining the revision. Source: PL 3-68, §…

Changes in Revenue Estimate. (a) Whenever the Director of Finance determines with reasonable certainty that the actual revenues which the Commonwealth will receive during a fiscal year will differ by more than $200,000 or by more than three percent from the revenue estimates in t…

Emergency Impoundments. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, and pending legislative action on any message transmitted under 1 CMC §§ 7604(c) or 7403, the Governor, upon the advice of the Director of Finance that continued obligation, pursuant to law, of funds…

Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to provide for a payment of $50,000 to specified survivors of a law enforcement officer who has died as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty regardless of employment status. Source: PL 8-40, § 2…