§ 601. Capital of the CNMI
TITLE 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS § 601. Capital of the CNMI. The official capital of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall be the island of Saipan. Source: PL 19-02 § 2 (July 28, 2015). Commission Comment: PL 19-02 contained the following findings and purpose section in addition to severability and savings clause provisions: Section 1. Findings and Purpose. The Commonwealth Legislature finds that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) does not have an official capital despite having an island chain that consists of the islands of Saipan, Rota and Tinian which make up the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth Legislature further finds that the island of Saipan contains the largest population and a larger landmass amongst the three islands. In addition, Saipan is the most suitable island for the official capital of the CNMI in that it is also the location of the CNMI’s Central Government and is where most of the government entities are situated. Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to officially name the island of Saipan as the CNMI’s official capital.
Source: CNMI Law Revision Commission