All government boards and commissions in the Northern Marianas will now have to abide by a uniform pay scale.
Governor Benigno Fitial has signed House Bill 15-43, which creates a standard compensation schedule for government boards.
The new Public Law 15-32 caps board compensation at 6,000 US dollars a year and subjects such income to taxes.
The law was enacted in a bid to curb the highly publicized abuse of privilege and power allegedly existing among some boards and commissions.
A preliminary study by the Office of Public Auditor showed that some board members get as much as 30-thousand US dollars annually for attending meetings alone.
OPA also found that some boards have established excessive compensation rates and that some appointees get paid for attending informal meetings.
To address this alleged abuse, Public Law 15-32 caps board compensation at 60 US dollars for a full day meeting, and at 30 US dollars for a half-day meeting.
Board members will no longer get paid for attending a meeting unless the minutes of that meeting have been transcribed and adopted.
