House approves $222-M budget

The House of Representatives approved the FY 2001 budget package on Friday amounting to $221.66 million, augmenting spending limit by the legislative and judicial branches as well as key government agencies.

For the first time, lawmakers also agreed to transfer responsibility of paying government utilities to each department or agency in an effort to encourage power and water conservation in public offices.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio had asked a change in the current payment system when he handed the budget proposal to the Legislature in April on the heels of the government’s mounting obligations to the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation.

To respond to appeals by government employees who have been demanding the retroactive salary increase mandated in 1991 under PL 7-31, the House also proposed transfer of lapsed funds from personnel expenditures in FY 2001 into an account to pay these people.

But there is no assurance for any payment to eligible current and former government employees as the proposal did not earmark specific amount for compensation.

The budget, however, is expected to be overhauled by the Senate after Tinian and Rota representatives raised objections on the proposal drawn up by the lower house, particularly on the funding level given to their island municipalities.

Abstain

Vice Speaker Alejo M. Mendiola from Rota and Tinian Rep. Norman S. Palacios both abstained from the voting during the House session. Ten members voted “yes,” while six members were absent when the budget bill was presented to the floor late Friday afternoon.

The House Ways and Means Committee chaired by Rep. Antonio M. Camacho hammered out last-minute changes to address concerns of the legislators, but hopes by Rota and Tinian for bigger budget failed.

But Mr. Mendiola said he is optimistic that the Senate will be able to reach a compromise so that the two islands will receive enough funding for the next fiscal year before the deadline for passage of the budget on September 30.

“We want to get more. I hope the upper house will balance the budget and we will reach a compromise by that time,” he told reporters in an interview after the brief session.

While he is happy that the CNMI government has more money to spend for FY 2001, especially for scholarship and medical referral programs, Mr. Palacios stressed the budget allotted for Tinian falls short of what local officials had requested.

“Tinian needs a better budget. We are hoping at least $15 million,” he said in the same interview.

Because six of its nine members come from the two islands, the Senate is likely to provide additional funding for Rota and Tinian that have been otherwise overlooked by the lower house.

Under HB 12-246 or Appropriations and Budget Authority Act of 2001, both islands have obtained identical allocation at $14.3 million — a slight increase of about $1.1 million from the initial appropriation of $13.2 million proposed by the Tenorio administration in April.

Hike

But other agencies and departments have received similar hike in their spending level as compared to what the governor had earmarked for them.

The judiciary’s budget rose from $5.1 million to $5.6 million, while the Legislature swelled from $7.9 million to $8.2 million. Both branches had already gained additional funds when the governor revised his budget proposal last July.

The Public School System, which has the biggest share of the pie at over $40 million, secured more money amounting to $870,000 which will be used to pay for utilities.

Likewise, the Department of Public Safety got close to $158,000 increase for a total of $14.1 million budget, an amount which is still much lower than the $17 million Commissioner Charles W. Ingram had asked lawmakers.

The Department of Public Health, on the other hand, had its appropriation cut by $360,000 from $39 million proposed by the administration to $38.6 million approved by the House.

But the medical referral program acquired higher funding level of $4.4 million, while the scholarship at $3.3 million, underscoring the priorities given by lawmakers to these two areas which were reduced in the past in the wake of serious financial crisis confronting the CNMI.

The $221.66 million estimated revenues for the next fiscal year were above the $207 million projected for the current fiscal year in a sign of growing confidence on the islands’ economy.

If Mr. Tenorio signs the budget approved by both houses, it will be the first budget package since FY 1999. Last June, the governor vetoed the FY 2000 proposal, citing potential deficit spending by departments and agencies as well as layoffs of government employees to be hit by proposed cuts barely four months into the next fiscal year.