SECRETARY of Finance David DLG Atalig said all bonuses have been disbursed to CNMI government retirees.
“They were issued right away as promised. We thank the Legislature in obviously getting that through so that we can get our retirees the additional support they needed. All of the recipients of the retirement fund got it,” he said.
The bonus was supposed to have been released before Christmas last year, but the Republican-led Senate and the Democrat-Independent-led House of Representatives disagreed over the funding source.
Both chambers passed House Bill 22-95 over four months later, and the measure was signed by Governor Ralph DLG Torres on April 28, 2022 to provide each retiree a $1,000 bonus.
To fund the retirees’ bonuses, Public Law 22-17 tapped the following resources:
• Amount reserved for the double-dipping period liability that may be owed to a former House member – $39,052.
• Office of Planning and Development’s feasibility study on the casino gaming industry – $50,000.
• Micronesian Legal Services – $156,550.
• Within-grade increase due the 1,458 government employees of various agencies – $2.6 million.
The original House version included the reappropriation of $858,006 allotted for the Marianas Visitors Authority and $66,660 in discretionary funds for the governor’s office. These were removed by the Senate.
The House, for its part, did not include the 100% reprogramming authority for the governor earlier approved by the Senate.
