VOTING to override Gov. Arnold I. Palacios’ veto of two line items in the revised fiscal year 2023 budget would have been an exercise in futility, Sen. Celina R. Babauta said Monday.
Babauta, a Saipan Democrat, and Rota Republican Sen. Dennis Mendiola voted “no” to the motion of Senate Floor Leader Corina L. Magofna, Ind.-Saipan, to override the governor’s line-item veto of Sections 604 and 713 of the revised fiscal year 2023 budget or Public Law 23-4, which he signed on April 25, 2023.
Section 604 would require the CNMI Legislature’s approval, through a joint resolution, prior to the submission of a revised spending plan for American Rescue Plan Act funds, while Section 713 would allow the Legislature to have access to the central government’s Munis Financial Management Information System “for budget purposes.”
In his transmittal letter to the Legislature, the governor said he vetoed Section 604 on constitutional grounds. He said any measure intended to have the force and effect of law must be originally introduced as a bill in the Legislature, which upon passage must be presented to the governor for approval.
As for his veto of Section 713, the governor cited the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches, and the confidentiality of taxpayer information. He said it would be counter-productive to provide direct access to Department of Finance data in the Munis system.
During a Senate session on Friday, Magofna moved to override the governor’s line-item vetoes.
Prior to the roll call vote, Senate President Edith Deleon Guerrero, D-Saipan, said “transparency, accountability, honesty and rebuilding trust for the people of this Commonwealth are the very reasons we are pushing for an override.”
She cited a spreadsheet obtained from the Department of Finance indicating that there was $93.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds available as of May 31, 2023. Yet 500 ARPA-funded government employees had lost their jobs and the administration’s reason was due to lack of ARPA funds, Deleon Guerrero said.
She also mentioned that the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs resident director on Tinian was being asked to return an ARPA-funded vehicle because there was no more ARPA money. The vehicle is used by DCCA staff to pick up food stamps for the people who need them, she added.
Deleon Guerrero said they want access to the CNMI government’s financial records “for the people of the Commonwealth.”
She said, “There is no motive other than to be transparent, to be accountable to the people of the Commonwealth, to show the evidence of what the CNMI government has in the books, to produce the evidence that has been provided to this Legislature as we preach the words ‘transparency and accountability,’ to rebuild trust for the people of the Commonwealth.”
The motion to override, which required the approval of two-thirds of the members, did not pass the Senate.
Aside from the Senate president and Magofna, those who voted for the override were Tinian Republican Sens. Jude U. Hofschneider and Sen. Frank Q. Cruz.
Senate Vice President Donald M. Manglona, Ind.-Rota, Sen. Paul A. Manglona, Ind.-Rota, and Sen. Karl King-Nabors, R-Tinian, were excused.
‘Then what?’
Babauta told reporters on Monday that the override was “an exercise in futility.”
She said Article 2, Section 7 of the CNMI Constitution states that the Legislature has 60 days from the receipt of the governor’s veto message to override the veto. That 60-day period ended on Saturday, June 24, 2023, the day after the Senate session. She said the governor transmitted the revised FY 2023 budget, which included his line-item veto message, on April 25, 2023.
Noting that the override also required the approval of two-thirds of the members of the 20-seat House of Representatives, Babauta said that even if she voted for the override for the sake of solidarity, “then what?”
The House, whose next session is set for Thursday, June 29, wouldn’t have an opportunity to vote for an override, she said.
“The House members couldn’t have considered it. The timing of it just didn’t make sense to me,” Babauta said, referring to the override.
She added that “my allegiance is to the people, not to the governor and the governor knows that. I have no allegiance to nobody but to all the citizens who call the Commonwealth home.”
According to Babauta, the governor himself has stated that the Legislature can address its concerns with the ARPA spending plan and the Department of Finance records by passing legislation.
“If we want to address those [issues] strategically, we should pass legislation,” Babauta added.
Celina R. Babauta
