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House puts off override on budget veto—again
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Posted on Feb 18 2009
The House of Representatives once against deferred a vote on overriding the governor’s veto of the $156.76 million fiscal year 2009 budget bill.
Several members wanted to wait until others were present. Three members were absent during yesterday’s session—Reps. David Apatang, Edward Salas and Joseph Reyes.
House Speaker Arnold Palacios during a break from the session said a vote would probably occur next week, at the latest.
Last Friday, the House deferred voting because only 17 of the 20 members were present. Fourteen votes are needed to override the governor’s veto. The Senate overrode the veto last week.
Gov. Benigno Fitial vetoed the latest budget attempt because of a lack of austerity measures in the bill.
A few minutes after the House deferred action on the override last week, 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.
In December, Fitial vetoed the Legislature’s first budget of $165 million, citing an $8 million drop in projected local revenue. The latest budget reduced the spending level by $8 million but did not include austerity measures like unpaid holidays. The House was unsuccessful in overriding that veto.
It has been 142 days since Oct. 1, 2008, when the fiscal year 2009 budget was supposed to be in place.
