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House could take up budget issue again
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Posted on Feb 24 2009
The third time may be the charm for the House of Representatives today.
After deferring voting on overriding the governor’s veto of the $156.76 million fiscal year 2009 budget bill because of absent members, the House is expected to take up the issue today.
The House has twice held off voting because members were not present. Some of the members absent in the past are expected to be present today.
Last week, House Speaker Arnold Palacios said a vote would occur “one way or another.”
“We’re going to vote on it regardless, whether we have the numbers or not,” he said last week. “We will all vote with our conscience 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.”
The Senate has already overridden the veto.
Gov. Benigno Fitial vetoed the latest budget attempt because of a lack of austerity measures in the bill.
Rep. Victor B. Hocog has 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.
