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$156M eyed for FY09 budget
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Posted on Sep 04 2008
The Legislature and administration are now looking at a resource level of $156.7 million, a decrease of $1.7 million from the original revenue projection for the 2009 fiscal year.
The new estimate factors in the $1.7 million income from the Marianas Public Land Trust, which has been earmarked for the payment of debts owed by the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.
The updated revenue forecast is reflected in a resolution introduced in the House of Representatives last week. The resolution, once adopted, will set the government spending limit for the period between Oct. 1, 2008 and Sept. 30, 2009.
Speaker Arnold I. Palacios yesterday said it is urgent to pass a new budget given the huge decline in government resources. “We need a spending plan that matches our resources, especially when resources are going down the way it is right now,” he said.
No appropriation was passed for fiscal year 2008. The government is currently operating on the FY2007 budget level of $163 million, a figure largely believed to be more than the available resources.
In April, the Fitial administration submitted its budget proposal for FY2009. The House Ways and Means Committee conducted initial review and held public hearings, but the process came to a temporary halt after the committee’s chairman, Rep. Ray N. Yumul, left for military service.
Rep. Victor Hocog, who also chairs the House Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation, and Communications, has been appointed to take over the Ways and Means Committee.
Palacios said yesterday that the committee has resumed work on the budget, and is expected to introduce a bill soon. He said the Legislature is still hoping a budget will be passed before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.
For her part, Sen. Maria Pangelinan, chairwoman of the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee, said her committee is preparing a budget bill that can be used as a takeoff point for future talks with the Lower House.
