Bill places legislative approval over Administrative Adjudication Law
July 14, 2009
Acting Governor Michael W. Cruz, M.D.,
vetoed Bill 122 , which attempts to impose a temporary moratorium on the issuance of commercial leases and licenses by the Chamorro Land Trust Commission (CLTC).
“The CLTC has self-imposed a moratorium on approving new commercial leases, and their commercial lease rules and regulations are only pending legal review. As such, Bill No. 122 is statutorily unnecessary,” said Acting Governor Cruz. “Further, Bill No. 122 likely creates a conflict in law by requiring rules and regulations to be approved by the legislature rather than the Administrative Adjudication Law.”
The Administrative Adjudication Law provides a valid process to adopt rules and regulations, which allows for the incorporation of views from the public and prevents delays due to legislative inaction.
“Avoiding the Administrative Adjudication Law process was surely not the intent of the author and merely the unintended consequence of his legislation,” said Acting Governor Cruz. “Following the letter of Bill No. 122, it appears that the Administrative Adjudication Law will not apply and that only legislative approval is required.”
