Manglona pushes appointment of conferees for retirees’ bonuses

Manglona

Sen. Paul A. Manglona (Ind-Rota) has introduced a resolution to request Senate president Jude U. Hofschneider (R-Tinian) to appoint the conferees that will represent the Senate at a conference committee that will hammer out with the House of Representatives a mutually acceptable bill for the government retirees’ $1,000 bonuses.

Manglona told Saipan Tribune yesterday that, as of the Senate’s session last Thursday, Hofschneider has yet to appoint conferees and that he does not know why.

In his Senate Resolution 22-18 that was co-sponsored by Sen. Edith E. DeLeon Guerrero (D-Saipan), Manglona said Hofschneider should appoint the Senate conferees to begin the dialogue and reach an amicable compromise so that the retirees can be given their $1,000 bonuses.

The senator also asked the Senate to support and approve the proposed House Bill 22-91 in the form of HD1, SS1, CCSI, that the House conferees recently introduced for the payment of the retirees’ $1,000 bonuses.

Last Feb. 22, the House rejected the Senate’s version of the bill that also gave Torres 100% reprogramming authority.

House Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) then appointed Reps. Donald Manglona (Ind-Rota), Blas Jonathan Attao (R-Saipan), and Corina Magofna (D-Saipan) to serve as House conferees.

Manglona said the House conferees already met with the Senate minority bloc and began talks on ways to expedite a resolution so that the retirees can get their bonus soon.

The Rota senator said the group both agreed that both chambers have concurred with raising the bonus to $1,000 instead of the $500, as previously proposed.

He said the group both agreed that Gov. Ralph DLG Torres does not require the 100% reprogramming authority after Finance Secretary David DLG. Atalig told the House Committee on Ways and Means that Torres’ 25% reprogramming authority, as provided in the Planning and Budgeting Act, is sufficient to cover the full amount of $2,626,000 that is required for the $1,000 retirees’ bonus.

Manglona said the proposed conference committee’s substitute bill will re-appropriate $2.62 million in local funds from sources that are already identified, including provisions that were originally passed by both the House and Senate but line item vetoed by Torres and legally creates a business unit.

He said the substitute bill is also consistent with the attorney general’s response to Atalig and the governor’s legal counsel dated Dec. 13, 2021.

The senator said AG Edward Manibusan stated that given that the bonus is funded by general fund revenues and requires legislative appropriation to be funded pursuant to the Commonwealth Code, it is difficult to justify the bonus as “an existing essential function” of the Commonwealth.