Senate migrates funds; passes budget

The Senate unanimously voted to pass their version of the Commonwealth government’s budget in yesterday’s session at the Senate chamber on Capital Hill.

All eight members voted yes to House Bill 20-173, SS1, while Senate vice president Steven K. Mesngon (R-Rota) was absent.

Senate Fiscal Affairs chair Jude U. Hofschneider (R-Tinian) said the Senate version migrated some funds to the CNMI Public School System, the Northern Marianas College, and the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.

The budget bill, the fiscal year 2019 Appropriations Act, heads back to the House—to the Ways and Means Committee—for review and, if House lawmakers approve the Senate version, the bill would then go to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres for signing.

Rep. Angel A. Demapan (R-Saipan), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, expects to receive a copy of the Senate’s version of the CNMI budget bill today. The committee would review it first before presenting it to the body.

A bicameral conference committee—composed of three members each from the House and Senate—will be convened it the House rejects the Senate version.

Senate President Arnold I. Palacios (R-Saipan), expecting the House to reject the Senate version, said he would name the members of the Senate panel no later than today, with Hofschneider expected to lead the conferees.

Hofschneider, before the bill was passed, said that giving PSS, NMC, and CHCC more funding were some of the highlights of the Senate version. “We’ve increased the allocation to PSS…by $3.2 million. This is more than the [constitutionally mandated] 25 percent. In totality, [PSS’ budget], inclusive of general funds, is $47 million.”

The allocation for NMC increased to $5.8 million from the Senate version that included the money collected from the CW funds while a total of $8.2 million is appropriated for the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.

More than 50 percent or $4.9 million of CHCC’s funds were from outside sources while $3.2 million were from the general appropriation. The Senate gave CHCC an additional $200,000 aside from the $2 million that came from the House.

Hofschneider said some of the funds came from the more than $1.8 million budgeted for the controversial salary increase, Public Law 19-83, that the Supreme Court thumbed down last month.

“We actually migrated some of that [allocation for salary increase] to PSS and NMC. For the allocation for the Legislature, we cut the leadership’s budget by $100,000; we went from $300,000 last year to $200,000.”

“The members’ allocation, for the office individual account, we cut it from $90,000 to $75,000. We also increased the budget for the First [Rota] and Second [Tinian] Senatorial Districts to the tune of $400,000. We gave $10.1 million to Tinian and $9.9 million.”
 
Comments

Palacios and Sen. Teresita A. Santos (R-Rota) thanked the members of the committee in working to finalize the Senate version, which they are hoping the House would accept so the bill could be signed before Oct. 1, the start of fiscal year 2019.

“…I know sometimes that I become very impatient. But let me say this very briefly that it has been my intent, always been my intent, to have a budget passed today [Thursday], no matter what,” said Palacios.

He added that critical issues were also addressed in the Senate version of the bill in order to make sure that funds are also allocated for the utilities.

Santos said she thinks the Senate’s version is workable for the CNMI government. [It] provides an increase of funds in areas of vital concern such as PSS, CHCC, DPS, and NMC.”