FY06 budget bill not yet done

While the House of Representatives has adopted a concurrent resolution identifying $206.5 million in available resources for fiscal year 2006, it has not come up with a complementary bill that appropriates the funds to different departments and agencies.

House Ways and Means committee chair Norman S. Palacios said he has yet to meet with different committees to draft the bill.

“We don’t have it. I’ll be meeting with the members on this one,” said Palacios.

Former congressman Stanley Torres, who chaired the House Ways and Means Committee during the 13th Legislature, said a numbered House bill usually goes with the concurrent resolution unless this provides a specific section showing the breakdown of the funding per agency or program.

HCR 14-3, which identifies the $206.5 million available resources for the next fiscal year, merely cites the funding availability. It does not specify how the lump sum would be divided among agencies. The resolution now goes to the Senate for action.

Palacios estimated Friday that a separate budget bill may be introduced in two weeks.

“We have to wait for the Senate to review the concurrent resolution,” he said.

Senators had repeatedly called on the House to pass a new budget immediately to ensure its passage on or before Sept. 30.

Senate majority leader Paul A. Manglona called for an emergency joint session of the Legislature to pass a new budget while Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee chair Joseph M. Mendiola suggested that lawmakers be locked up in a room to be able to act on a new budget.

Both senators insisted that it is the Legislature’s job to appropriate the funds and make necessary cuts of funding per program.

On Friday, the House minority bloc’s designated spokesman, Rep. Ray Tebuteb, said he agrees that the Legislature should make specific allocations to agencies or departments.

“It’s really our job. It would be irresponsible on our part if we just send this lump sum amount of $206 million to the governor and let him decide how to divide it,” said Tebuteb.

HCR 14-3 rejects the Babauta administration’s $225.8 million budget submission.

The administration’s budget package contains nearly $20 million in revenue enhancement measures that include a poker fee licensure fee increase of $6,000, suspension of Tobacco Control and Tobacco Settlement Funds, and diversion of local poker funds to the General Fund.

Without this, the administration had said that the government would only generate $206 million in view of projected reduced revenues from the garment industry.

The industry, which contributes about a third of the government’s total revenues, is downsizing following the Jan.1, 2005 lifting of worldwide trade quotas.

HCR 14-3 identified a total of $217.4 million budgetary resources for the next fiscal year, but the amount would eventually be reduced to $206 million due to the annual payment obligations of the government. These include: Public School System bond repayment, $2 million; capital improvement project $60 million bond repayment, $5.2 million; Marianas Public Land Trust remittance to Northern Marianas Housing Corp. (Public Law 12-27), $1.3 million; and Land Compensation bond repayment, $2.7 million, as well as $2 million for the 1 percent payment for deficit reduction.

Of the remaining $206.5 million, $50 million is expected to be appropriated for PSS, leaving only $156.5 million for all other government departments and programs.