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New Public Law makes changes to Caroline Islands Air Corporation

Palikir, Pohnpei (FSM Information Services): March 29, 2010 - Back in January of 2010, the FSM Congress Committee on Transportation and Communication, led by Chairman Dion Neth, held public hearings in Yap State on three bills, one of them being a bill to nationalize the Caroline Islands Air (CIA) Corporation. From these meetings, Congressional Act No. 16-25 was born. This is an Act to further amend Public Law No. 10-72, which originally set up the CIA Corporation back in December of 1997. This Act amends Sections 6, 7, 8, and 9 relating to the composition, organization, terms and vacancies of the Board of Directors of the CIA Corporation.

For Section 6, Board of Directors - Composition, the original Public Law, as amended by Public Law 10-103, set the Board at five members including the FSM Secretary of Transportation, Communication & Infrastructure, or his designee, and all the other members of the Board were appointed by the President. The new public law states that the Board shall be composed of five voting members and one ex officio non-voting member (the chief executive officer of the Corporation). For the voting members, the national government will represented with one member and each state will have one member. All appointments to the Board shall be made by the President of the FSM with the advice and consent of Congress, and the appointment of any State representative to the Board shall be upon the recommendation to the President by the Governor of the pertinent state.

The changes to Section 7, Board of Directors - Organizational meeting, deleted a subsection that required the appointed Board members to randomly select the length of their initial terms, with three members serving initial terms of one year, and two serving initial terms of two years. This subsection is not found in the new law.

In Section 8, Board of Directors - Terms of office and Term limitations, clarifies that terms of office shall all be for a period of three years and shall be staggered so that not more than two of the five terms can expire in one year. This new Section 8 also states that the rights and powers of a member whose term has expired shall remain in effect until the first meeting of the Board following the appointment of that member's successor, and this interim period shall not last for more than one year after his or her terms has expired.

Finally, changes to Section 9 - Board of Directors - Vacancies, give 90 days, instead of 60 days, for the chairman or the presiding officer of the Board to notify the President and the Governor of the state represented, of an impending vacancy on the Board, prior to the expiration of the term of a member, or resignation or death.

In his transmittal letter to Congress, President Mori stated that it is his hope that the changes in the national law will result in an efficient operation of the corporation and it can, in turn, translate into safe and more reliable air service for the nation. President Mori signed this Act into Public Law 16-26, and a copy of the law can be found on the FSM Congress website at www.fsmcongress.fm.