/ gy noeeal gt Se wth mS ot 288 Corporassociations, operatives, urities, and hment and ‘stment in, ons under exporting Members of Congress are chosen in biennial elections in even-numbere d years by secret ballot of residents who are citizens of the Territory, 18 year s of age or over, andregistered voters. A regular session of the Congress, which may continue for 30 consecutive Calendar days, is held each year beginning the second Monday of July. The High Commissioner may call a spec ial session whenever he deems it in the public interest. The legislative power of the Con8'ess of Micronesia extends to all 4Ppropriate subjects of legislation, except that no legislation may be MAE ntenance of arbor facili- ft Maat eae ue ed bby th # *.as ; lay . . tes ow 8 gt * hl, * . a alubhle A Beg eetEe ee a ee The Third Regular Session of the Congress of Micronesia took place from July 10 to August 8, 1967. During the session, the Congress passed 48 bills and adopted 30 joint resolutions. Eighty-four single house resolutions were also adopted. The High Commissioner approved and signed into law 41 bills and withheld his approval on the remaining seven, in most cases because of certain technical defects. (A list of the bills and the action taken by the High Commissioner on each is included in Appendix C.) import, Orders of the President of the United States and orders of the Secretar y of activities mm muni- (Bill of Rights) of the Trust Terr itor Code. Further, the Congress may y not Among major items of legislation passed were Public Law No. 3-40 creating a Social Security System; Public Law No. 3-32 providing for improved administration of the tax laws, Public Law No. 3-41 setting up a Board of Land Surveying Examiners; and laws appropriating a total of $532,500 for programs and projects in the six districts. may it tax the property of non- Activities of the Congress following the Third Regular Session included itricts and is tion and — sa IS a ig of a resenta’s, two the six House embers singleabout 4apPorMariIslands Onape d Yap inconsistent with treaties Or international agreements of the United States; laws of the United States ap- plicable to the Territory; Executive the Interior; or Sections 1 thr ough 12 impose any tax upon property of the United States or of the Terr itory, nor residents at a higher rate than that of residents, The Congress also has power to appropriate funds availabl e from revenues raised pursuant to Territory tax and revenue laws and to review and make recommendations on the High Commissioner’s propos ed requests for funds to be appropri ated by the United States Congress. During the year under revi ew, the Secretary of the Interior issu ed Amendment No. 3 of Order No. 2882, the document which provides for the authority and organization of the Congress of Micronesia. The Ame ndment concerns the passage of bills, the conduct of elections should a natural disaster prevent ballotin g on the appointed day, and revenu es appropriable by the Congress. (Th e Amendment is reproduced in Append ix B.) Part V—Political Advancement ee EE Ts organization of its Future Political Status Commission and studies of the Intcrim Committees on Education appointed by each house. In February 1968, the President of the Senate, the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and the Legislative Counsel of the Congress traveled with the High Commissioner to Washington, D. C., to appear before the Appropriations Committees of the United States Congress in support of the Territory’s budget requests. For the second successive year, one Senator and one Representative were advisers to the U.S. delegation to the Trusteeship Council. Executive Branch . Working under the High Commissioner are a Headquarters staff, deFiscal Year 1968 scribed below, and six district administrations. All officers function under the Trust Territory Code and the Trust Territory Manual of Administration. The Office of the High Commissioner consists of the Deputy High Commissioner, the Attorney General, the Special Assistant and the Assistant Commissioners for Administration, Education, Public Affairs, Public Health, and Resources and Development. The Internal Auditor and the Public Defender are also attached to this office. The five Assistant Commissioners and the Attorney General perform both line and staff functions in assisting the High Commissioner in over-all] direction of the executive branch. With the Deputy High Commissioner, they also serve collectively to advise the High Commissioner on matters of policy and program, functioning as a de facto “‘cabinet.” Under the various Assistant Commissioners are department or division heads and specialists responsible for the technical direction of their program operations throughout the Territory, and for provision of necessary staff, professional and technical services. Several organizational changes took place during the year under review. The Departments of Education and Public Health, previously under supervision of an Assistant Commissioner for Community Services, are now each headed by an Assistant Commissioner. The former Department of Public Works and the Engineering and Construction Service were combined into a new Department of Public Works responsible for design, construction, operations and maintenance. 19