The Legislature proves once again its uselessness by approving the hirings at a time when government finances are frighteningly low. Budget language mandates that the governor submit his hiring requirements to the Legislature for approval, but what good is that mechanism if lawmakers cannot and do not analyze data.
The governor states that his administration will monitor a few more months of collections before he proposes any changes. What disastrous policy. The downward trend is there and has been there for a few years for all to see. Targeted employee cuts last year would have assured adequate revenue to cover essential government services.
Instead, the government is back to nonpayment of full Retirement Fund contributions, power bills and vendors. Government payroll is uncertain each payday and employees cannot plan and therefore cannot spend except for essentials. If individuals can make these kinds of choices why can’t this government?
Strengthen, not weaken, the Open Government Act
THE compromise candidate for speaker has not been a lawmaker for a long time but talks as though he has been at it for years. On the proposed administration changes to the Open Government Act, Speaker Cabrera said the law “works perfectly well,” just before he adds that “there is a way to make the Open Government Act requests more responsibly and wisely.” This means that he and other proponents of amendments to the law will make changes to make it impossible for ordinary citizens to access basic information from their government. The law was enacted to, among other things, ensure that public officials act reasonably and responsibly in discharging their duties. Apparently, some of these officials don’t want to be bothered by the people who they supposedly serve.
The public auditor’s report on the details surrounding the AG’s private political soiree has been withheld from the public. The governor said he’s still thinking about whether to release it, although he has already absolved his AG of any wrongdoing.
The mayor of Tinian, for his part, has been embarrassed by the release of details regarding his handling of public funds. Whatever the motivation of his critics, he must be prepared to produce all public documents requested through the Open Government Act.
All this demonstrates the importance of maintaining government transparency. Personal matters remain protected. No protected personal details have been the subject of any of the Open Government requests and none have been released. The claim, moreover, that ending the Legislature’s exemption from the law will “impede the legislative process” has been disproved.
These public officials, in other words, should be ashamed to propose changes to the Open Government Act. If they would like to avoid personal embarrassment they should conduct themselves appropriately at all times and be extremely judicious in their use of public funds. The only way to ensure that they toe the line is to keep the Open Government Act as is — or impose stiff penalties on those who violate it, which can be done through another initiative petition.
The administration and its legislative allies should not be permitted to limit the scope of this important law.
