House Bill 17-45, or the Pay Period Reduction Act of 2010, will reduce to 70 from 80 hours the public sector employees’ biweekly payroll.
“The austerity bill is up for a decision on Tuesday,” he told the Variety in an interview on Friday afternoon.
This bill was introduced after the House shelved H.B. 17-22, also known as the Austerity Holidays and Unpaid Legal Holidays Act of 2010, amid mounting complaints from their constituents.
The CNMI government is the main employer of local residents.
But the Fitial administration vowed to find ways to reduce government payroll amid the Department of Finance’s projections that government tax collections this fiscal year 2010 will drop to $137.35 from $150.5 million.
FY 2009, which ended on Sept. 30, 2009, also created an additional deficit of $17 million for the government.
Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, earlier promised that a budget for FY 2010 would be passed within 30 days from Jan. 11.
When asked about this broken pledge, Tenorio said he wanted to comply with the newly ratified constitutional amendment that will shut down government operations, except for essential services, if no new budget is passed.
But he said Attorney General Edward Buckingham later explained that the constitutional amendment will take effect in FY 2011 and not in this fiscal year.
H.B. 17-45 which House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Ramon S. Basa, Covenant-Saipan, sponsored seeks to implement the one-hour per day work reduction starting this month.
It covers all full-time government employees — civil and excepted service without contracts — including those with different autonomous agencies and municipal entities.
“In light of the commonwealth’s present financial situation where dwindling resources can no longer adequately address present needs, the Legislature finds that the CNMI government must implement cost reductions,” H.B. 17-45 states in its findings.
The bill exempts public sector employees who are working under federally funded contracts or grants.
Unlike H.B. 17-22, the new bill will not impose payless holidays.
Government employees will get paid for the six remaining legal holidays this FY 2010 —Good Friday, April 2; Commonwealth Covenant Day, March 24; Memorial Day, May 31; Independence/Liberation Day, July 4; and Labor Day, Sept. 6.
