SAIPAN — The Senate will take up 14 bills on final reading when it convenes the first day of its Eighth Special Session at 11:30 a.m. Friday in the Senate Chamber at the Vice Speaker Jesus P. Mafnas Memorial Building on Capitol Hill.
The bill calendar spans elder care, policing, government liability and the reach of the attorney general. Senate Bill 24-62 would enact the CNMI Dignified Aging and Long-Term Care Act of 2026, establishing a statutory and regulatory framework for assisted living facilities, skilled nursing facilities and Programs of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly, along with licensing and oversight of long-term care facilities.
Senate Bill 24-07 would establish a Police Reserve Unit within the Department of Public Safety, and Senate Bill 24-06 would authorize the Department of Corrections to pay inmates and establish work programs. Senate Bill 24-53 would prohibit the Office of the Attorney General from issuing criminal investigative subpoenas unless explicitly authorized by CNMI law or a judicial officer.
House Bill 24-57, in a Senate draft, would re-establish a government liability cap. Senate Bill 24-55, known as the Patrick Henry Camacho Castro Act, would create higher fine zones with increased penalties for traffic violations in school zones, construction zones and other high-risk areas.
The calendar also carries House Bill 24-40, clarifying how business registration, licensing and tax laws apply to foreign corporations engaged in land development, infrastructure or construction in the Commonwealth, including projects performed under or in connection with contracts with the United States.
Rounding out the final reading list are bills on the FY2025 surplus appropriation of $2,105,563 to the Public School System and the retirees’ pension obligation, a criminal provision the agenda describes as a new criminal defense for desecration or theft of memorial or historical sites, a name change legal procedure, renaming the fire commissioner as fire chief, authorizing the Commonwealth Economic Development Authority to use its preferred dividend funds, modernizing the business licensing framework and establishing jaywalking provisions.
Two newly pre-filed measures appear for the first time. Senate Bill 24-64, filed by Sen. Jude U. Hofschneider, would extend from three to five years the period over which the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation may reach full cost recovery, a change the bill frames as benefiting ratepayers. Senate Local Bill 24-05, filed by Sen. Paul A. Manglona, would name the Rota East Harbor the Joseph Songao Inos East Harbor.
Senators will also consider House Joint Resolution 24-16, recognizing the National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve and designating Aug. 17 through 21 as Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week.
