He told reporters yesterday that the Senate-House conference committee had taken into account the $150 education fee for CW applications.
“One significant thing that is going to happen out of [the conference committee meetings] is the projected availability of the $150 education fund that may be used to fund vocational curriculum out of” Northern Marianas College, he said.
“And if there is something the NMI people still have to worry about it is not meeting the $102 million projection,” he added.
But instead of just worrying about not meeting the projected financial resources, Inos said “we should worry about how we can do more to enhance” revenue collection.
He said the Legislature has to come up with revenue-generating measures. These include the bill that will create a tourism incentive fund by imposing $15 travel and promotion fee on travelers from non-U.S. countries.
His presence during Tuesday’s conference committee meeting “emphasized the need for the Legislature to finally pass the tourism incentive fund,” he said.
Another revenue generating measure that is now on the governor’s desk is the Saipan casino measure but Inos said the administration is still reviewing it.
He earlier said that they preferred to see a casino bill that was also passed by the Seante.
Additional source
Inos said the conferees looked at the additional financial resources and agreed where to put local funds.
“From my observation yesterday, I think it is a matter of agreement on any possible additional source of funds which both houses agreed to look into. So it is not like one of those ‘you give in here, you give in there’ kind of thing,” he said.
“It does not look like that is the way it’s going. They were all focused on what additional funds can be spent for already identified items [in the appropriation measure] to meet the additional funding needs of other items,” he added.
NMC, he said, has a vocational program that can be funded by the education fee as mandated by U.S. P.L. 110-229.
Inos also said that by no longer paying the lease of the former La Fiesta Mall in San Roque — which was acquired by the Babauta administration — “does not necessarily get us out of financial obligation.”
But he said the administration will recommend to turn it into a more economically active facility so that it can soon contribute to the CNMI economy.
Willing to sign
Inos said the administration is willing to sign a budget bill so people will stop worrying about a government shutdown.
A new budget must be enacted before Oct. 1, the start of fiscal year 2012.
Inos said he made himself available to provide the conferees the information they need.
“They invited me to come over. I don’t participate in their meetings. I was available to provide clarifications in certain issues but [the bill] is a property of the Legislature and we want them to take care of the matter and we are available to provide assistance and advice on certain issues of the budget,” he said.
