House may bring up FY 2009 budget today

The House of Representatives could take up the budget issue once again today.

Last week, the House deferred voting to override Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s veto of the Legislature’s second attempt at passing the $156.76 million Fiscal Year 2009 budget.

The House decided to put off the vote because majority of members did not think there were enough lawmakers present to pass an override. Only 17 of the 20 members were present last week. Fourteen votes are needed for an override. The Senate, meanwhile, already passed a bill overriding the governor’s veto.

House Speaker Arnold Palacios said he’s not sure if the vote will occur today, but it will happen eventually, “one way or another. “

“We’re going to vote on it regardless, whether we have the numbers or not,” he said. “We will all vote with our conscious and sense of commitment to public policy. I think we’ve gone around and around and around on this issue. I think at the end of the day each of us must articulate our own reason for our own vote and position.”

Some members requested additional time to review the governor’s veto message, Palacios said.

Fitial vetoed the latest budget attempt because of a lack of austerity measures in the bill. The Legislature’s second attempt reduced the budget by $8 million per Fitial’s first veto, but did not include measures like unpaid holidays.

A few minutes after the House deferred action on the override, Rep. Victor B. Hocog introduced an administration-supported measure that reinstates austerity Fridays/unpaid holidays, cuts employer contribution to the Retirement Fund from 18 percent to 11 percent, and grants full reprogramming power to all expenditure authorities. Under House Bill 16-223, top officials including the governor, lieutenant governor, lawmakers, justices, and judges are encouraged to waive 10 percent of their salaries.

Rep. Tina Sablan, who last week raised concerns about alleged favors offered in exchange for not supporting an override, said the Senate showed courage by approving the override.

Sablan noted that a budget has never been passed during an election year because of gamesmanship. The fallback plan has always been to institute austerity measures and give unlimited reprogramming authority, she said.

The representative questioned why all but one member supported the passage of the budget initially, but now the House is struggling to get 14 votes for an override.