Previous Story
Budget plan is proposing suspension of earmarks
|
Posted on Apr 12 2019
In the proposed budget package that Gov. Ralph DLG Torres submitted to the Legislature, he proposes to suspend the earmarks provided in four public laws.
The proposal is seen to ease the CNMI government’s financial crunch after the islands were hit by two consecutive destructive storms in a span of just almost two months last year.
Typhoon Mangkhut barreled through Rota in September while Super Typhoon Yutu almost leveled the islands of Saipan and Tinian the following month.
The statutory mandates that Torres wants suspended for now are outlined in
• Public Law 13-38, an act to restrict cigarette smoking;
• Public Law 14-54, nonresident worker fund fees allocated to the Northern Marianas College and Public School System;
• Public Law 15-5, the 10 percent Gaming Jackpot Tax allocated to PSS; and
• Public Law 18-64, an act to gradually increase the tax on cigarettes.
The Finance Department has identified $233.22 million in gross income the administration expects to collect next fiscal year. The net amount of resources available for appropriation—gross revenue minus statutory earmark— is $147,135,214.
The $233.22 million reflects a 9.7-percent decrease from last fiscal year’s record-high budget of $258,139,107—a difference of $24,916,580.
The local revenue and resources available for appropriation went down by 14.3 percent—from $171,589,677 in fiscal year 2019 to $147,135,214 in fiscal year 2020—or $24,454,463.
In the letter to legislative leaders, Torres said Mangkhut and Yutu created an enormous impact to the CNMI economy in just 45 days.
“The CNMI is forced to revert to the hardships of austerity as one of a number of proactive cost-containment measures to stabilize the government’s financial condition,” he said.
The additional burden of paying for the non-federal cost share in the millions for typhoon response and recovery “will result in a curtailment of critical public services, forcing our government to readjust our budget [and] possibly affecting services and employment,” said Torres. (Jon Perez)
