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Reprogramming bill heads to Torres
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Posted on Jun 14 2019
A bill that would give several officials full re-programming authority is now headed to the Governor’s Office after the Senate, in yesterday’s special session at the Senate chamber on Capital Hill, passed the measure with a 7-1 vote.
House Bill 21-56, House Substitute 1, which is a short-term bill that ends in fiscal year 2020, would give reprogramming authority to the governor, chief justice, Legislative Bureau director, municipal mayors, and the municipal council.
Rep. Ralph N. Yumul (R-Saipan) introduced H.B. 21-56 that passed the House in a session last Tuesday.
Sen. Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota), who voted no, said he has no problem supporting the bill and that he even backed Public Law 15-1 that also gave the governor reprogramming authority. But the situation is different now.
“Back when 15-1 voted, we knew that the revenue was not going to get there or the revenue won’t continue to go down. Today is different since there are a lot of questions that the Legislature wants to ask,” said Manglona,
Manglona wrote Gov. Ralph DLG Torres yesterday to obtain information on the status of the casino business gross revenue tax.
Sen. Teresita Santos (Ind-Rota) said the bill might be unpopular to some but the decision is the most practical one at this moment in the CNMI economy.
Sen. Sixto K. Igisomar (R-Saipan) said the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee, of which he is the vice chair, has been transparent in making its decisions based on their meetings with Torres and Finance Secretary David Atalig. “We’ve been meeting almost daily.”
“Right now, the authorization of the bill that will be provided to the governor, for me, is just one of the components that is necessary out of the complexities in the CNMI financial resources that we need now. We are trying to alleviate the austerity that we’re in.”
