Photo: AFP
The Northern Marianas legislature has passed an 11th hour bill to prevent members' salaries plummeting to $US8,000 a year - the rate they were paid 30 years ago.
The House of Representatives passed the measure giving incoming members of both the Senate and the House a $32,000 per annum salary on Thursday.
The next day, the Senate passed the bill.
It was the third attempt at the salary legislation after Governor Ralph Torres vetoed two earlier bills.
Since the days of the $8,000 dollar salary there have been two rises, and a recent attempt to hike the wages to $US70,000.
But the CNMI Supreme Court ruled each of these wage rises were unconstitutional, prompting representatives to act.
If Mr Torres signs the bill into law, the $32,000 salary of the lawmakers will still constitute a drop from the current rate of $39,300.