Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee Hears Support, Amendment Requests for Senate Bill 24-01 Pension Plan

The Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee heard public comment on Feb. 25 on Senate Bill 24-01, a proposal to create a CNMI term pension plan, during a public hearing at the Mayor's Office Conference Room in Tatatsuk Bluta.

Avery, who identified herself "for the record" as a resident and the department head for the Department of Finance on Rhoda, said she supports the bill but urged the committee to make several changes to protect long-serving employees. "I want to advocate for my staff who are who direly needs a retirement plan to happen for them," Avery said, asking the committee to consider lowering the retirement age in the bill from 70 to 65 and to include a service-buyback option that would allow employees with more than 10–20 years of service to retire earlier.

Why it matters: Committee members heard that many executive-branch employees have long tenures and that a pension plan could affect staff retention, health-care access in retirement and agency operations. Avery told the committee she and her staff have reviewed hybrid plans used in Guam and stateside jurisdictions and said they would submit written amendment proposals for the committee’s consideration.

Committee response and next steps: The committee chair acknowledged the testimony and emphasized that "as it's written right now, it's not final," adding that the bill will need updates as staff collect additional data. The chair clarified the draft currently covers line agencies and executive-branch offices and may not include semi-autonomous or autonomous agencies unless amended. The committee requested fiscal analyst Dave Dimapone to continue gathering the information needed to "crunch the data" that will inform the legislation and said it will schedule another hearing when enough information is available. The chair also encouraged members of the public to submit written comments to the legislative bureau and to the chair's office at senator.juh.staff@gmail.com (staff: Miss Dania Borja).

Meeting business and formal actions: At the start of the session the floor leader moved to adopt the day's agenda; the motion was seconded by the vice president and carried by voice vote. At the close of the hearing the floor leader moved to adjourn, the motion was seconded by the vice president and the committee adjourned.

What was not decided: The committee did not vote on the content of SB24-01 during this session. Committee members signaled the need for more fiscal data and broader engagement before any formal amendments or a recommendation are made.

The committee did not set a date for the next hearing but said it will announce it publicly when scheduled. The Fiscal Affairs Committee adjourned following the direction to staff to gather further data.