II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1275

To implement further the Act (Public Law 94–241) approving the Covenant

to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 8, 1997

Mr. MURKOWSKI (for himself and Mr. AKAKA) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To implement further the Act (Public Law 94–241) approving the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the

Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the

United States of America, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND REFERENCE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Mariana Is5 lands Covenant Implementation Act’’. Public Law 94–241

6 (90 Stat. 263, 48 U.S.C. 1801), which approved the Cov7 enant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mar8 iana Islands in Political Union with the United States of
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1 America, as amended, hereinafter is referred to as the

2 ‘‘Covenant Act’’.

3 SEC. 2. IMMIGRATION REFORM FOR THE NORTHERN MARI4 ANA ISLANDS.

5 (a) COVENANT ACT AMENDMENTS.—The Covenant

6 Act is amended to add the following new section 6 after

7 section 5:

8 ‘‘SEC. 6. TRANSITION PROGRAM FOR IMMIGRATION.

9 ‘‘Pursuant to section 503 of the Covenant to Estab10 lish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in

11 Political Union with the United States of America (ap12 proved in Public Law 94–241, 90 Stat. 263):

13 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NA14 TIONALITY ACT AND ESTABLISHMENT OF A TRANSITION

15 PROGRAM.—Effective on the first day of the first full

16 month commencing one year after the date of enactment

17 of this section, the provisions of the Immigration and Na18 tionality Act, as amended, shall apply to the Common19 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, with a transition

20 period not to exceed ten years thereafter, during which

21 the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretaries

22 of State, Labor, and Interior, shall establish, administer,

23 and enforce a transition program for immigration to the

24 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (the

25 ‘‘transition program’’). The transition program estab-
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1 lished pursuant to this section shall provide for the issu2 ance of nonimmigrant temporary alien worker visas pursu3 ant to subsection (b), and, under the circumstances set

4 forth in subsection (c), for family-sponsored and employ5 ment-based immigrant visas. The transition program shall

6 be implemented pursuant to regulations to be promulgated

7 as appropriate by each agency having responsibilities

8 under the transition program.

9 ‘‘(b) TEMPORARY ALIEN WORKERS.—The transition

10 program shall conform to the following requirements with

11 respect to temporary alien workers who would otherwise

12 not be eligible for nonimmigrant classification under the

13 Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended:

14 ‘‘(1) Aliens admitted under this subsection shall

15 be treated as aliens seeking classification as non16 immigrants under section 101(a)(15) of the Immi17 gration and Nationality Act, as amended, including

18 the right to apply, if otherwise eligible, for a change

19 of nonimmigrant status under section 248 of the Im20 migration and Nationality Act, as amended, or ad21 justment of status, if eligible therefor, under sub22 section (c) of this section and section 245 of the Im23 migration and Nationality Act, as amended.

24 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary of Labor shall establish,

25 administer, and enforce a system for allocating and
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1 determining the number, terms, and conditions of

2 permits to be issued to prospective employers for

3 each temporary alien worker who would not other4 wise be eligible for admission under the Immigration

5 and Nationality Act, as amended. This system shall

6 provide for a reduction in the allocation of permits

7 for such workers on an annual basis, over a period

8 not to exceed ten years. In no event shall a permit

9 be valid beyond the expiration of the transition pe10 riod. This system may be based on any reasonable

11 method and criteria determined by the Secretary of

12 Labor to promote the maximum use of, and to pre13 vent adverse effects on wages and working condi14 tions of, United States labor and lawfully admissible

15 freely associated state citizen labor.

16 ‘‘(B) The Secretary of Labor is authorized to

17 establish and collect appropriate user fees for the

18 purpose of this section. Amounts collected pursuant

19 to this section shall be deposited to a special fund

20 of the Treasury. Such amounts shall be available, to

21 the extent and in the amounts as provided in ad22 vance in appropriations acts, for the purposes of ad23 ministering this section. Such amounts are author24 ized to be appropriated to remain available until ex25 pended.
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1 ‘‘(3) The Attorney General shall set the condi2 tions for admission of nonimmigrant temporary alien

3 workers under the transition program, and the Sec4 retary of State shall authorize the issuance of non5 immigrant visas for aliens to engage in employment

6 only as authorized in this subsection: Provided, That

7 such visas shall not be valid for admission to the

8 United States, as defined in section 101(a)(38) of

9 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended,

10 except the Northern Mariana Islands. An alien ad11 mitted to the Northern Mariana Islands on the basis

12 of such a nonimmigrant visa shall be permitted to

13 engage in employment only as authorized pursuant

14 to the transition program. No alien shall be granted

15 nonimmigrant classification or a visa under this sub16 section unless the permit requirements established

17 under paragraph (2) of this subsection have been

18 met.

19 ‘‘(4) An alien admitted as a nonimmigrant pur20 suant to this subsection shall be permitted to trans21 fer between employers in the Northern Mariana Is22 lands during the period of such alien’s authorized

23 stay therein, provided that such transfer is author24 ized by the Attorney General in accordance with cri-
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1 teria established by the Attorney General and the

2 Secretary of Labor.

3 ‘‘(c) IMMIGRANTS.—With the exception of immediate

4 relatives, as defined in section 201(b)(2) of the Immigra5 tion and Nationality Act, as amended, and except as pro6 vided in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, no alien

7 shall be granted initial admission as a lawful permanent

8 resident of the United States at a port-of-entry in the

9 Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port-of-entry in Guam

10 for the purpose of immigrating to the Northern Mariana

11 Islands:

12 ‘‘(1) FAMILY-SPONSORED IMMIGRANT VISAS.—

13 The Attorney General, based on a joint rec14 ommendation of the Governor and Legislature of the

15 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,

16 and in consultation with appropriate federal agen17 cies, may establish a specific number of additional

18 initial admissions as a family-sponsored immigrant

19 at a port-of-entry in the Northern Mariana Islands,

20 or at a port-of-entry in Guam for the purpose of im21 migrating to the Northern Mariana Islands, pursu22 ant to sections 202 and 203(a) of the Immigration

23 and Nationality Act, as amended, during the follow24 ing fiscal year.

25 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRANT VISAS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) If the Secretary of Labor, upon re2 ceipt of a joint recommendation of the Governor

3 and Legislature of the Commonwealth of the

4 Northern Mariana Islands, finds that excep5 tional circumstances exist with respect to the

6 inability of employers in the Northern Mariana

7 Islands to obtain sufficient work-authorized

8 labor, the Attorney General may establish a

9 specific number of employment-based immi10 grant visas to be made available during the fol11 lowing fiscal year under section 203(b) of the

12 Immigration and nationality Act, as amended.

13 ‘‘(B) Upon notification by the Attorney

14 General that a number has been established

15 pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this para16 graph, the Secretary of State may allocate up

17 to that number of visas without regard to the

18 numerical limitations set forth in sections 202

19 and 203(b)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Na20 tionality Act, as amended. Visa numbers allo21 cated under this subparagraph shall be allo22 cated first from the number of visas available

23 under section 203(b)(3) of the Immigration and

24 Nationality Act, as amended, or, if such visa

25 numbers are not available, from the number of
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1 visas available under section 203(b)(5) of such

2 Act.

3 ‘‘(C) Persons granted employment-based

4 immigrant visas under the transition program

5 may be admitted initially at a port-of-entry in

6 the Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port-of7 entry in Guam for the purpose of immigrating

8 to the Northern Mariana Islands, as lawful per9 manent residents of the United States.

10 ‘‘(D) Any immigrant visa issued pursuant

11 to this paragraph shall be valid only for applica12 tion for initial admission to the Northern Mari13 ana Islands. The admission of any alien pursu14 ant to such an immigrant visa shall be an ad15 mission for lawful permanent residence and em16 ployment only in the Northern Mariana Islands

17 during the first five years after such admission.

18 Such admission shall not authorize permanent

19 residence or employment in any other part of

20 the United States during such five-year period.

21 An alien admitted for permanent residence pur22 suant to this paragraph shall be issued appro23 priate documentation identifying the person as

24 having been admitted pursuant to the terms

25 and conditions of this transition program, and
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1 shall be required to comply with a system for

2 the registration and reporting of aliens admit3 ted for permanent residence under the transi4 tion program, to be established by the Attorney

5 General, by regulation, consistent with the At6 torney General’s authority under Chapter 7 of

7 Title II of the Immigration and Nationality

8 Act, as amended.

9 ‘‘(E) Nothing in this paragraph shall pre10 clude an alien who has obtained lawful perma11 nent resident status pursuant to this paragraph

12 from applying, if otherwise eligible under this

13 section and under the Immigration and Nation14 ality Act, as amended, for an immigrant visa

15 or admission as a lawful permanent resident

16 under the Immigration and Nationality Act, as

17 amended.

18 ‘‘(F) Any alien admitted under this sub19 section, who violates the provisions of this para20 graph, or who is found removable or inadmis21 sible under section 237(a), or paragraphs (1),

22 (2), (3), (4)(A), (4)(B), (6), (7), (8), or (9) of

23 section 212(a), shall be removed from the Unit24 ed States pursuant to sections 239, 240, and
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1 241 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as

2 amended.

3 ‘‘(G) The Attorney General may establish

4 by regulation a procedure by which an alien

5 who has obtained lawful permanent resident

6 status pursuant to this paragraph may apply

7 for a waiver of the limitations on the terms and

8 conditions of such status. The Attorney General

9 may grant the application for waiver, in the dis10 cretion of the Attorney General, if: (1) the alien

11 is not in removal proceedings, (2) the alien has

12 been a person of good moral character for the

13 preceding five years, (3) the alien has not vio14 lated the terms and conditions of the alien’s

15 permanent resident status, and (4) the alien

16 would suffer exceptional and extremely unusual

17 hardship were such terms and conditions not

18 waived.

19 ‘‘(H) The limitations on the terms and

20 conditions of an alien’s permanent residence set

21 forth in this paragraph shall expire at the end

22 of five years after the alien’s admission to the

23 Northern Mariana Islands as a permanent resi24 dent and the alien is thereafter fully subject to

25 the provisions of the Immigration and National-
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1 ity Act, as amended. Following the expiration of

2 such limitations, the permanent resident alien

3 may engage in any lawful activity, including

4 employment, anywhere in the United States.

5 Such an alien, if otherwise eligible for natu6 ralization, may count the five-year period in the

7 Northern Mariana Islands towards time in the

8 United States for purposes of meeting the resi9 dence requirements of Title III of the Immigra10 tion and Nationality Act, as amended.

11 ‘‘(d) INVESTOR VISAS.—The following requirements

12 shall apply to aliens who have been admitted to the North13 ern Mariana Islands in long-term investor status under

14 the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the North15 ern Mariana Islands on or before the effective date of this

16 Act and who have continuously maintained residence in

17 the Northern Mariana Islands pursuant to such status:

18 ‘‘(1) Such aliens may apply to the Attorney

19 General or a consular officer for classification as a

20 nonimmigrant under the transition program. Any

21 nonimmigrant status granted as a result of such ap22 plication shall terminate not later than December

23 31, 2008.

24 ‘‘(2) During the six-month period beginning

25 January 1, 2008, and ending June 30, 2008, any
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1 alien granted nonimmigrant status pursuant to

2 paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be permitted

3 to apply to the Attorney General for status as a law4 ful permanent resident of the United States effective

5 on or after January 1, 2009, amd may be granted

6 such status if otherwise admissible. Upon granting

7 permanent residence to any such alien, the Attorney

8 General shall advise the Secretary of State who shall

9 reduce by one number, during the fiscal year in

10 which the grant of status becomes effective, the total

11 number of immigrant visas available to natives of

12 the country of the alien’s chargeability under section

13 202(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as

14 amended.

15 ‘‘(e) PERSONS LAWFULLY ADMITTED UNDER THE

16 COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS

17 IMMIGRATION LAW.—Subject to subsection (d) of this sec18 tion, persons who would have been lawfully present in the

19 Northern Mariana Islands pursuant to the immigration

20 laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is21 lands on the effective date of this subsection, shall be per22 mitted to remain in the Northern Mariana Islands for the

23 completion of the period of admission under such laws,

24 or for two years, which is less.
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1 ‘‘(f) TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS FOR CERTAIN APPLI2 CANTS FOR ASYLUM.—Any alien admitted to the Northern

3 Mariana Islands pursuant to the immigration laws of the

4 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or pursu5 ant to subsections (b) or (c) of this section who files an

6 application seeking asylum in the United States shall be

7 required, pursuant to regulations established by the Attor8 ney General, to remain in the Northern Mariana Islands,

9 during the period of time the application is being adju10 dicated or during any appeals filed subsequent to such ad11 judication. An applicant for asylum who, during the time

12 his application is being adjudicated or during any appeals

13 filed subsequent to such adjudication, leaves the Northern

14 Mariana Islands of his own will without prior authoriza15 tion by the Attorney General thereby abandons the appli16 cation.

17 ‘‘(g) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Effective on the

18 first day of the first full month commencing one year after

19 the date of enactment of this section, the provisions of

20 this section and the Immigration and Nationality Act, as

21 amended, shall supersede and replace all laws, provisions,

22 or programs of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mari23 ana Islands relating to the admission of aliens and the

24 removal of aliens from the Northern Mariana Islands.’’
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1 ‘‘(h) ACCRUAL OF TIME.—No time of ‘‘unlawful pres2 ence’’ in the Northern Mariana Islands shall accrue for

3 purposes of the ground of inadmissibility in section

4 212(a)(9)(B) prior to the date of enactment of this sub5 section.

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Effective on

7 the first day of the first full month commencing one year

8 after the date of enactment of this section, section 101(a)

9 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, is

10 amended as follows:

11 (A) in paragraph (36), by deleting ‘‘and the

12 Virgin Islands of the United States.’’ and substitut13 ing ‘‘the Virgin Islands of the United States, and

14 the Northern Mariana Islands.’’; and

15 (B) in paragraph (38), by deleting ‘‘and the

16 Virgin Islands of the United States’’ and substitut17 ing ‘‘the Virgin Islands of the United States, and

18 the Northern Mariana Islands.’’.

19 (2) Effective on the first day of the first full month

20 commencing on date of enactment of this section, sub21 section (l) of section 212 of the Immigration and National22 ity Act, as amended, is amended as follows:

23 (A) in paragraph (1),
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1 (i) strike the words ‘‘stay on Guam’’, and

2 insert the words ‘‘stay on Guam and the North3 ern Mariana Islands’’,

4 (ii) after the word ‘‘exceed’’ insert the

5 words ‘‘a total of ’’, and,

6 (iii) strike the words ‘‘after consultation

7 with the Governor of Guam,’’ and insert the

8 words ‘‘after respective consultation with the

9 Governor of Guam or the Governor of the Com10 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,’’;

11 (B) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1),

12 strike the words ‘‘on Guam’’, and insert the words

13 ‘‘on Guam or the Northern Mariana Islands, respec14 tively,’’;

15 (C) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2),

16 strike the words ‘‘into Guam’’, and insert the words

17 ‘‘into Guam or the Northern Mariana Islands, re18 spectively,’’; and

19 (D) in paragraph (3), strike the words ‘‘Gov20 ernment of Guam’’ and insert the words ‘‘Govern21 ment of Guam or the Government of the Common22 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’’.

23 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—The Sec24 retaries of the Interior and Labor, in consultation with

25 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, shall
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1 develop a program of technical assistance, including re2 cruitment and training, to aid employers in securing em3 ployees from among United States labor or lawfully admis4 sible freely associated state citizen labor.

5 (d) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND DEPARTMENT OF

6 LABOR OPERATIONS.—The Attorney General and the De7 partment of Labor are authorized to establish and main8 tain Immigration and Naturalization Service, Executive

9 Office of Immigration Review, and Department of Labor

10 operations in the Northern Mariana Islands for the pur11 pose of performing their responsibilities under the Immi12 gration and Nationality Act, as amended, and under the

13 transition program. To the extent practicable and consist14 ent with the satisfactory performance of their assigned re15 sponsibilities under applicable law, the Departments of

16 Justice and Labor shall recruit and hire from among

17 qualified applicants resident in the Northern Mariana Is18 lands for staffing such operations.

19 (e) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—The President

20 shall report to the Senate Committee on Energy and Nat21 ural Resources, and the House Committee on Resources,

22 within six months after the fifth anniversary of the enact23 ment of this Act, evaluating the overall effect of the transi24 tion program and the Immigration and Nationality Act on
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1 the Northern Mariana Islands, and at other times as the

2 President deems appropriate.

3 (f) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF TEMPORARY WORK4 ERS PRIOR TO APPLICATION OF THE IMMIGRATION AND

5 NATURALIZATION ACT AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE

6 TRANSITION PROGRAM.—During the period between en7 actment of this section and the effective date of the transi8 tion program, the government of the Commonwealth of the

9 Northern Mariana Islands shall not permit an increase in

10 the total number of temporary alien workers who were

11 present in the Northern Mariana Islands on the date of

12 enactment of this section.

13 (g) APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be

14 appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out

15 the purposes of this section and of the Immigration and

16 Nationality Act, as amended, with respect to the Northern

17 Mariana Islands.

18 SEC. 3. MINIMUM WAGE.

19 The Covenant Act is amended to add the following

20 new section 7 after section 6:

21 ‘‘SEC. 7. MINIMUM WAGE.

22 ‘‘Pursuant to section 503 of the Covenant to Estab23 lish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in

24 Political Union with the United States of America (ap25 proved in Public Law 94–241, 90 Stat. 263)—
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1 ‘‘(a) Effective thirty days after enactment of this Act,

2 the minimum wage provisions of section 6 of the Fair

3 Labor Standards Act of June 25, 1938 (52 Stat. 1062),

4 as amended, shall apply to the Commonwealth of the

5 Northern Mariana Islands except:

6 ‘‘(1) the minimum wage rate applicable to the

7 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

8 shall be $3.35 per hour; and

9 ‘‘(2) effective January 1, 1999, and every Janu10 ary 1 thereafter, the minimum wage rate applicable

11 to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is12 lands shall be raised by thirty cents per hour or the

13 amount necessary to raise the applicable minimum

14 wage rate to the wage rate set forth in section

15 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, whichever

16 is less; and

17 ‘‘(b) Once the minimum wage rate applicable to the

18 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is equal

19 to the wage rate set forth in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair

20 Labor Standards Act, the minimum wage rate applicable

21 to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

22 shall thereafter be the wage rate set forth in section

23 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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1 SEC. 4. LABELING REQUIREMENTS FOR TEXTILE AND AP2 PAREL PRODUCTS.

3 The Covenant Act is amended to add the following

4 new section 8 after section 7:

5 ‘‘SEC. 8. LABELING OF TEXTILE AND APPAREL PRODUCTS.

6 (a) No textile or apparel product that is produced in

7 the Northern Mariana Islands shall have a stamp, tag,

8 label, or other means of identification or substitute there9 for on or affixed to the product stating ‘Made in USA’

10 or otherwise stating or implying that the product was pro11 duced in the United States unless the product is produced

12 in a factory certified by the United States Department of

13 Labor, in accordance with regulations issued by the Sec14 retary of Labor, to use full-time employee equivalents of

15 labor in the required percentage of qualified hours.

16 ‘‘(b) A textile or apparel product that does not meet

17 the requirements of subsection (a), or where the certifi18 cation by the United States Department of Labor is based

19 on false or incomplete information provided to the United

20 States Department of Labor, shall be deemed to be mis21 branded for the purposes of the Textile Fiber Products

22 Identification Act (Public Law 85–897, 72 Stat. 1717).

23 ‘‘(c) In this section:

24 ‘‘(1) FREELY ASSOCIATED STATE.—The term

25 ‘freely associated state’ means the Republic of
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1 Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the

2 Federated States of Micronesia.

3 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED HOURS.—The term ‘qualified

4 hours’ means the hours of labor performed by a per5 son who is a citizen, national, or other protected in6 dividual as defined in section 274B(a)(3) of the Im7 migration and Nationality Act, as amended (without

8 regard to application for naturalization), or who is

9 a citizen of a freely associated state (as long as sec10 tion 141 in the respective Compacts of Free Associa11 tion with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the

12 Federated States of Micronesia or the Republic of

13 Palau (Public Law 99–239 or Public Law 99–658)

14 or equivalent provisions are in effect).

15 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED PERCENTAGE.—The term ‘re16 quired percentage’ means—

17 ‘‘(A) 20 percent, for the period beginning

18 January 1, 1998, through December 31, 1998;

19 ‘‘(B) 35 percent, for the period beginning

20 January 1, 1999, through December 31, 1999;

21 and

22 ‘‘(C) 50 percent, for the period beginning

23 January 1, 2000, and thereafter.’’
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1 SEC. 5. TARIFFS.

2 General Note 3(a)(iv) of the Harmonized Tariff

3 Schedules of the United States is amended to add at the

4 end the following:

5 ‘‘(E) No textile or apparel product that is

6 produced in the Northern Mariana Islands shall

7 be admitted duty-free into the customs territory

8 of the United States as the product of an insu9 lar possession, unless the product is produced

10 in a factory certified by the United States De11 partment of Labor, in accordance with regula12 tions issued by the Secretary of Labor, to use

13 full-time employee equivalents of labor in the

14 required percentage of qualified hours. In this

15 subparagraph:

16 ‘‘(i) FREELY ASSOCIATED STATE.—

17 The term ‘freely associated state’ means

18 the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the

19 Marshall Islands, or the Federated States

20 of Micronesia.

21 ‘‘(ii) QUALIFIED HOURS.—The term

22 ‘qualified hours’ means the hours of labor

23 performed by a person who is a citizen, na24 tional, or other protected individual as de25 fined in section 274B(a)(3) of the Immi26 gration and Nationality Act, as amended
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1 (without regard to application for natu2 ralization), or who is a citizen of a freely

3 associated state (as long as section 141 in

4 the respective Compacts of Free Associa5 tion with the Republic of the Marshall Is6 lands, the Federated States of Micronesia

7 or the Republic of Palau (Public Law 99–

8 239 or Public Law 99–658) or equivalent

9 provisions are in effect).

10 ‘‘(iii) REQUIRED PERCENTAGE.—The

11 term ‘required percentage’ means—

12 ‘‘(I) 20 percent, for the period

13 beginning January 1, 1998, through

14 December 31, 1998;

15 ‘‘(II) 35 percent, for the period

16 beginning January 1, 1999, through

17 December 31, 1999; and

18 ‘‘(III) 50 percent, for the period

19 beginning January 1, 2000, and

20 thereafter.’’

Æ