House approves MPLT margin account to facilitate $29 million pension loan after amendment
November 06, 2025 | House, Northern Mariana Legislative Sessions, Northern Mariana Islands
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The House of Representatives passed House Bill 24-68, House Draft 1, authorizing the Marianas Public Land Trust (MPLT) to establish a margin account solely to facilitate a $29,000,000 loan authorized under Public Law 24-13, the chamber announced after a roll call.
The measure cleared the House after Representative John Paul Sablan offered a floor amendment deleting Section 103, language the administration and members had flagged as conflicting with the margin account authorization. "We delete the text on Section 103 in its entirety," Sablan said when offering the amendment; the House adopted the amendment by voice vote.
Administration witnesses had urged swift legislative action. Virginia Veil Gomez, special assistant for the Office of Management and Budget, told lawmakers the governor had revised the FY2026 revenue estimate downward from $179,000,000 to $158,000,000 — a 12.1% reduction — and said the amendment to HB24-68 was "critical to our fiscal response plan." Tracy Narita, secretary of finance, reiterated that the pension loan and related bill language were central to the revised budget and warned that 7,000 covered lives depend on timely authorization. "If we are unable to move forward with this pension loan, the CNMI cannot expect further federal funding assistance for operations from the Office of Insular Affairs," Narita said.
Members debated the bill's role in the broader fiscal strategy. The chair of Ways and Means appealed for support, describing the legislation as part of multibranch work with the administration and MPLT trustees and saying it advances the commonwealth’s fiscal reform effort. Floor Leader emphasized negotiating challenges with federal partners and urged unity while warning against administrative pay raises or new local hires funded from anticipated federal inflows during an austerity period.
After debate and the amendment's adoption, the clerk reported the final roll call: 18 members voted yes and 1 voted no; the motion to pass HB24-68 HD1 carried.
The House also heard public testimony supporting related fiscal responses. Margarita Audon, CNMI Nutrition Assistance Program administrator, urged lawmakers to accept a $1,000,000 MPLT remittance to help the Nutrition Assistance Program pay benefits, saying USDA would cover only half of November's benefits and that her office is consulting the Office of the Attorney General on the remittance terms.
Next steps: the bill passed the House and will proceed according to the legislature’s process for transmittal and any subsequent actions; members signaled continuing budget negotiations and planned follow-up committee work to finalize revised appropriations and related program administration.
The measure cleared the House after Representative John Paul Sablan offered a floor amendment deleting Section 103, language the administration and members had flagged as conflicting with the margin account authorization. "We delete the text on Section 103 in its entirety," Sablan said when offering the amendment; the House adopted the amendment by voice vote.
Administration witnesses had urged swift legislative action. Virginia Veil Gomez, special assistant for the Office of Management and Budget, told lawmakers the governor had revised the FY2026 revenue estimate downward from $179,000,000 to $158,000,000 — a 12.1% reduction — and said the amendment to HB24-68 was "critical to our fiscal response plan." Tracy Narita, secretary of finance, reiterated that the pension loan and related bill language were central to the revised budget and warned that 7,000 covered lives depend on timely authorization. "If we are unable to move forward with this pension loan, the CNMI cannot expect further federal funding assistance for operations from the Office of Insular Affairs," Narita said.
Members debated the bill's role in the broader fiscal strategy. The chair of Ways and Means appealed for support, describing the legislation as part of multibranch work with the administration and MPLT trustees and saying it advances the commonwealth’s fiscal reform effort. Floor Leader emphasized negotiating challenges with federal partners and urged unity while warning against administrative pay raises or new local hires funded from anticipated federal inflows during an austerity period.
After debate and the amendment's adoption, the clerk reported the final roll call: 18 members voted yes and 1 voted no; the motion to pass HB24-68 HD1 carried.
The House also heard public testimony supporting related fiscal responses. Margarita Audon, CNMI Nutrition Assistance Program administrator, urged lawmakers to accept a $1,000,000 MPLT remittance to help the Nutrition Assistance Program pay benefits, saying USDA would cover only half of November's benefits and that her office is consulting the Office of the Attorney General on the remittance terms.
Next steps: the bill passed the House and will proceed according to the legislature’s process for transmittal and any subsequent actions; members signaled continuing budget negotiations and planned follow-up committee work to finalize revised appropriations and related program administration.
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