THE Senate on Monday unanimously approved its version of House Bill 23-31 or the revised fiscal year 2023 budget measure, which includes $17.67 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds.
According to Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee Chair and Senate Vice President Donald Manglona, the Torres administration may have used ARPA monies to cover government payroll in the first quarter of the fiscal year, from Oct. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2022.
House Bill 23-31 increases the FY 2023 local revenue projection available for appropriation to $116.1 million from $109.7 million.
To be consistent with the ARPA fund spreadsheet or Schedule B, Manglona offered an amendment to H.B. 23-31 to include Section 604 titled, “Revised CNMI ARPA spending plan,” which requires legislative approval of the ARPA spending plan before it is submitted to the U.S. Department of Treasury by joint resolution “after collaboratively consulting with the administration to ensure that the critical needs of the Commonwealth are addressed.”
The House version of the FY 2023 budget also included a provision that states: “The revised Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Act includes a revised Schedule B: American Rescue Plan Act for the lapsed period from Oct. 1, 2022 to April 16, 2023 to indicate zero ARPA funds after April 16, 2023 to September 30, 2023.”
All nine senators voted to adopt Manglona’s floor amendment.
Prior to the roll call for the passage of H.B. 23-31 as amended by the Senate, Manglona reiterated that the Legislature will take part in making any changes to the ARPA spending plan.
The bill now returns to the House of Representatives.
In an interview after the session, Manglona said the $17.6 million in ARPA funds “may have been used to cover [government] payroll since Oct. 1.” This may have contributed to the Torres administration’s “over-expenditure” of ARPA funds, Manglona added.
He said the previous administration used funds “from somewhere” to cover 20% of personnel cost from Oct. 1 to April 2023.
Schedule B of the revised FY2023 budget “reflects that the 20% was paid by ARPA [in] the previous administration. That was why Finance was reporting an over-expenditure of ARPA monies by the previous administration,” he reiterated.
Manglona said if the Torres administration tapped other sections of the ARPA funds they “need to be paid back if [the U.S.] Treasury doesn’t approve the revised spending plan.”
With Andrew Roberto
Senate Vice President Donald M. Manglona talks about his floor amendment to the revised fiscal year 2023 budget during a Senate session on Monday.
