By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

BY a vote of 15-0, the House of Representatives yesterday passed a measure implementing additional 15.6 percent across-the-board budget cuts on various agencies in line with the administration’s request to further reduce the fiscal year 2007 spending level of $193.5 million by $30 million.
House Bill 15-265, authored by House Minority Leader Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, was revised twice before members voted for its passage.
One of the major amendments is a provision limiting the governor’s reprogramming authority relative to the Public School System by $6 million and only up to September of this year.
The bill allows the governor to source the $6 million within the executive branch and independent agencies “as he so deems.”
Except for Reps. Martin B. Ada, R-Saipan, Candido B. Taman, R-Saipan, and Manuel A. Tenorio, R-Saipan, all excused, the 15 members present voted in favor of H.B. 15-265 which now goes to the Senate.
The bill sets the cash-strapped government’s revised spending level for FY 2007 at $163.260 million.
All agencies in the executive branch as well as the judicial and legislative branches of the government will have their budgets reduced by 15.6 percent.
The judicial branch’s original budget of $4.433 million will be reduced to $3.741 million.
The legislative branch’s original FY 2007 budget of $7.626 million will be reduced to $6.436 million.
The Washington representative’s budget of $1.334 million will be $1.26 million.
Offices in the executive branch will get $10.455 million and no longer $12.995 million.
The revised budgets of other agencies include: Commerce — $1.212 million; Community and Cultural Affairs — $3.75 million; Corrections — $3.7 million; Finance — $5.6 million; Labor — $2.5 million; Lands and Natural Resources — $2.819 million; Public Health — $34.443 million; Public Safety — $10.11 million, and; Public Works — $4.9 million.
Tinian and Rota will each get $9.336 million and not $11 million.
The Saipan and Northern Islands mayors and council offices will get $2.240 million.
Northern Marianas College, which has 141 FTEs, will get $4.278 million and not $5 million.
PSS, the single largest public employer in the CNMI with a total of 1,116 FTEs, will get $32.378 million and no longer $38.654 million.
In all, there are 4,927 FTEs on the government payroll. Their combined salaries cost taxpayers more than $113 million or 69 percent of the government’s entire budget in FY 2007.