House bill limits governor’s powers over public funds

House of Representatives floor leader pro tem Ralph N. Yumul (Ind-Saipan), extreme left, confers with House clerk Linda B. Muna as House Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan), middle, and Vice Speaker Joel Camacho (Ind-Saipan) listen to House legal counsel Joseph Taijeron during the session’s short break Friday. (FERDIE DE LA TORRE)

The House of Representatives passed Friday a bill that essentially clips the emergency powers of the governor over public funds by ensuring that the expenditure authority designated in the Annual Appropriation Act will retain exclusive control over all funds appropriated to it.

With 18 House members present at the session voting “yes,” House Bill 23-27, House Draft 1, now goes to the Senate for action.

Reps. Edwin K. Propst (D-Saipan) and Marissa Renee Flores (Ind-Saipan) were absent but excused.

Under the bill, a Legislature Operations Fund shall be maintained separate and apart from other funds of the CNMI government. Independent records and accounts shall be maintained for the Legislature Operations Fund by the Legislative Bureau.

Each annual appropriations act shall appropriate to the Legislature not less than 9% of the funds identified by the governor as available for appropriation, or the amount that was appropriated to the Legislature in the previous annual appropriation—whichever is greater.

The expenditure authority over the funds in the Legislature Account shall be the Legislative Bureau director.

Before the voting, Rep. Joseph A. Flores (Ind-Saipan), who is the principal author of the legislation, offered floor amendments to the bill.

House legal counsel Joseph Taijeron said Flores just wanted to clarify that, based on the existing language, that this language will not exceed the constitutional limits set forth in Article 2 Section 16.

“So it may be 9% this year, it may be 9.1 or 9.2 or 10% next year, or maybe 8% or 7%. But whatever amount it is, is not going to exceed the constitutional amounts sets set forth in Article 2 Section 6. That’s all this language does,” Taijeron said.

Flores stated in the bill that natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic have provided the governor with reason to use “emergency powers” to drastically reduce funds that were appropriated not just to the Executive Branch but also to the Legislature and the Judiciary.

Flores said the governor also exercised sole power over several hundred million dollars in American Rescue Plan Act funds that were provided to the Commonwealth as a whole, not just the Executive Branch.

He said this legislation will be consistent with the clear terms of the appropriation process that states, “no Commonwealth official may make an obligation or contract for the expenditure of unappropriated Commonwealth funds, unless provided by law or approved in advance by joint resolution of the Legislature.”

Flores said each branch should be able to make decisions regarding its operations and personnel.

He said procurement and payroll will also be managed internally and not by the Executive Branch.

Flores said decisions regarding public purpose and travel will be made by the respective expenditure authority.