The House of Delegates and the Senate agreed on the amount after a conference committee, Tuesday.
The legislators mostly followed the Senate version of the budget which includes the provision asking the Palau Public Utilities Corporation (PPUC) to return $945,987 to the national treasury.According to the measure appropriations shall be made up of the following available revenues: The amount of $21,650,136 shall come from local revenues; the amount of $4,000,000 shall come from Compact Section 211(a) funds; the amount of $3,960,000 shall come from the Compact Section 215 Inflation Adjustment fund derived from Compact Section 211(a); the amount of $150,000 shall come from Compact Section 211(c) funds and shall be applied to subsection (4)(l); the amount of $99,000 shall come from the Compact Section 215 Inflation Adjustment funds derived from the inflation adjustment of Compact Section 211(c) and shall be applied to subsection (7)(c); the amount of $631,000 shall come from Compact Section 211(d) funds and shall be applied to subsection (8)(d) the amount of $3,000,000 shall come from Compact Section 211(f) Trust Fund Investment Earnings.The OEK also increased the Senate’s budget and cut the House budget.The Senate increased their budget to $1,485,000 due to the increased administrative costs, while the House of Delegates has been decreased to $1,643,000. The OEK also increased the appropriation of the Palau Red Cross from $5,000 to $10,000.The sum of $2,782,558 is earmarked for debt services.The Senate proposed a budget of $58,495,987 while the House approved a budget of $58,241,987.The original proposed budget by President Johnson Toribiong was $58,787,987.Toribiong has the option to refer the bill, veto it or sign the measure into law.
