By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

AFTER finally making its way through nine weeks of stormy discussions in connection with the 2007 revised appropriations bill, the Legislature is bracing for a fresh round of budget talks, this time for the upcoming fiscal year.
Vice Speaker Eddie B. Calvo, R-Maite, is expecting the administration to submit its 2008 budget proposal within a week and said he will immediately schedule a public hearing on Friday.
“We can all be thankful for the collaboration that took place which allowed us to dispose of the important issues addressed in Bill 74,” Calvo said after the Legislature voted 8-7 to pass the revised budget bill that had pulled Republicans and Democrats apart.
Bill 74, which imposes over $18 million in cuts on agencies’ spending and balances the budget at $471 million, is awaiting the governor’s action.
Except for Sen. Jesse A. Lujan, R-Tamuning, all Republican senators voted in favor of Bill 74, which raises the revenue level based on increased fees, a tax amnesty, and tax break reductions.
All Democrats, except for Sen. Adolpho Palacios, D-Ordot/Chalan Pago, voted against the bill.
“The Legislature was able to balance the imbalanced budget proposal with provisions that allow the governor to make difficult but necessary decisions that impact hiring, departmental spending, tax and fee collections, and transfer authority, as well as other guidelines designed to create financial stability within this government,” said Calvo, chairman of the finance committee.
“All senators methodically debated and questioned sections of the bill while soliciting both direct and indirect public input through the legislative process. In the end, the difficult task was completed,” he added.
Among the sections in the administration’s original budget measure that the senators agreed to strike out were the provisions for a gross receipts tax increase and the $30 million borrowing authority.
“Every senator agreed on not borrowing money and not raising the GRT. The work would have been easier if Bill 74 had been balanced in the first place. As it is, we had to cut millions more,” Calvo said.
Sen. Rory Respicio, D-Agana Heights, remained adamant about Bill 74 even after its passage, saying the revised budget “appears balanced on paper but still doesn’t address the structure of the deficit.”
The authorized spending le-vel, he noted, far exceeds the $468 million revenue projection. “Senators who voted for the bill have no reason to pat themselves on the back,” Respicio said.