Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Governor Lemanu P.S. Mauga has signed into law Senate Bill 38-24, which is “an act amending the selection process of Senators to establish a deadline by which each respective county must determine their candidate no later than the first Tuesday of December on each general election year, and to mandate that all Senators submit their qualification credentials to the Senate committee for verification before they are sworn in.”

The bill which was introduced by Senator Soliai Tuipine Fuimaono last October, specifies that the selected senators must submit their birth certificates verifying they are US nationals or US citizens and their age, and also a certificate of their registered mate title and proof of residency.

Senator Soliai explained that setting a deadline will solve the problem of counties dragging out the selection of their senators, so that all senators can be sworn in on January 3rd of the year following a gubernatorial election.

This Act shall become effective immediately upon passage by the Legislature and approval by the Governor due to the need to immediately continue proper budget authority for the government