Legislature OKs budget revisions

Amelia Shai, the special assistant for programs and legislative review, looks at a copy of the budget revision bill that the Legislature’s assistant sergeant-at-arms Wilbrandon Aguon Jr. handed her at the Governor’s Office yesterday at 2:31pm. (FERDIE DE LA TORRE)

The Legislature passed during separate emergency sessions yesterday afternoon a bill that would revise the budget for government’s operations for fiscal year 2023.

The Senate and House of Representatives unanimously approved during their respective emergency sessions the final product of the bipartisan conference committee, which was tasked to hammer out their differences on the legislation.

With the Senate’s and House’s approval of the conference committee’s report, this means the budget revision legislation will now go to Gov. Arnold I. Palacios’ desk for signing into law.

Palacios was off-island yesterday for an official business in Guam. (See story on Page 4)

All 20 House members and nine Senate members were present during their respective emergency sessions. Sen. Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota) was on Rota but joined the session virtually. The legislators clapped their hands after passing the bill.

The Legislature’s assistant sergeant-at-arms Wilbrandon Aguon Jr., handed a copy of the budget revision bill—technically called House Bill 23-31, HS1, SS2, CCS1—to Amelia Shai, the special assistant for programs and legislative review, at the Governor’s Office yesterday at 2:31pm.

Rep. Ralph N. Yumul (Ind-Saipan) introduced House Bill 23-31 to repeal and re-enact the budget law (Public Law 22-22, or the Appropriations and Budget Authority Act of 2023) last March 17. The House passed the legislation, with amendments, on that same day.

The Senate made amendments to the bill and passed the measure in the form of House Bill 23-31, HS1, Senate Substitute 2.

Last Friday, the House rejected the Senate’s amendments and the bill was subsequently referred to a bipartisan conference committee.

The committee conferees met and deliberated Tuesday, during which they agreed upon their respective proposals. They came back yesterday morning to review and vote on their final product.

Before the voting to adopt the conference committee’s final product during separate emergency sessions, Sen. Donald M. Manglona (Ind-Rota), who chaired the Senate conference committee, and Rep. Yumul, who chaired the House conference committee, discussed some of the major changes that the committee adopted.

Manglona said some of the changes was to move $225,000 that was initially allocated to Tinian to take care of the Customs personnel on Rota and Tinian.

Manglona said that would bring Rota and Tinian Customs personnel to full-time status or 80-hour work schedule, similar to Saipan Customs personnel.

The senator said the remaining funds shall be re-appropriated to the Health Network Program, formerly called the Medical Referral Program, provided that no less than $50,000 shall be used for interisland medical referral needs, particularly stipends if stipends are still being offered to off-island medical referral patients.

“But just that this was in no way trying to deprive Tinian of local funds,” he emphasized.

Manglona said they did get clarification from acting Department of Finance secretary Tracy B. Norita that they do have additional funds that they were made aware of within the past two days that they can tap to address operational needs.

Norita testified Tuesday that certain funds have already been advanced to the Tinian Municipality that may be used for operations and personnel. With that, Manglona said, the committee decided to allow Tinian the opportunity to employ 10 additional full-time employees.

He said they did add funds to Rota and Tinian Customs because, as they’ve seen from the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee, Rota and Tinian seem to have been left out from a lot of the decisions that were made to Saipan law enforcement.

“So in the spirit of equity we applied the same principle to Rota and Tinian law enforcement personnel,” Manglona said.

Additionally, the conference committee agreed that they will list back all these positions, all these FTEs that they approved that won’t be funded so that the agencies can address their FTEs through additional funds through other sources of revenue—mainly grants or should there be excess in personnel costs.

After explaining the final product in the conference committee’s report, Yumul, who chaired the House conference committee, thanked the Senate conferees, saying in the end all islands benefitted.

“I asked each member to support the conference committee’s report so we can get this budget passed as soon as possible,” Yumul said.

Senate President Edith E. DeLeon Guerrero (D-Saipan) expressed her appreciation to the Senate team “for their hard work.”

DeLeon Guerrero said it’s been a very long process as they have been addressing this from the beginning of the Palacios-Apatang administration.

“We’ve been having numerous meetings on a weekly basis. A lot of analytical work has gone into this as well to produce the final product between the House and the Senate team,” she said.