THE House of Representatives on Wednesday unanimously passed House Bill 22-91 that would fund the $1.3 million bonus for CNMI government retirees.
All the 20 members present voted yes to Rep. Donald Manglona’s H.B. 22-91 after it was amended to include the $13,000 for the Office of Public Auditor fee.
He said the bill, which now goes to the Senate, would ensure that “we don’t put our government at risk of any violation of the American Rescue Plan Act rules.”
He said they realize and acknowledge all the hard work that all the retirees “had put into bettering the lives of our people and our Commonwealth. We wanted to reward that by doing it in a fiscally responsible manner.”
On Dec. 15, 2021, the Republican-led Senate adopted Senate Joint Resolution 22-5 which seeks to approve Republican Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ request to reprogram $1.3 million from the general fund for the payment of a $500 holiday bonus for each retiree.
But the Democrat-led House did not act on the joint resolution, and instead demanded more information from the administration about the funding source.
Manglona echoed the concern of Vice Speaker Benjamin Jonathan Attao that “absent funding source and not clearly identifying which business unit [in the fiscal year 2022 budget] will be affected, we cannot allow for this reprogramming of funds from our local resources and use ARPA or any federal resources to backfill these accounts.”
“We all know payments to pension funds are not allowed in the ARPA rules and guidelines,” Manglona said.
Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig has said that “we are neither increasing nor reducing the current budget level. Furthermore, the funds for this retiree bonus will use the budget allocations from the Office of the Governor and the Department of Finance, and not from any other program.”
H.B. 22-91 proposes to amend Public Law 22-8, or the government’s fiscal year 2022 budget, to reappropriate the funds that the governor line-item vetoed:
• Section 703(d)(1)(A) which would require the Finance secretary to reserve $39,052 for the double-dipping period liability that may be owed to a former House member;
• Section 704(c) which would require the Office of Planning and Development to use $50,500 of its funds for a feasibility study on the casino gaming industry;
• $156,550 for Micronesian Legal Services;
• $66,660 in discretionary funds for the governor’s office; and
• $858,006 for the Marianas Visitor Authority.
Premium pay
The House also unanimously adopted House Joint Resolution 22-12 “to strongly encourage and endorse” a new local economic impact payment of direct and expedited financial relief to qualified households, and expansion of eligibility for premium pay bonuses for essential workers in the government and private sector.
Authored by Rep. Tina Sablan, the joint resolution calls for a payment of $500 local stimulus per eligible adult, and $500 per qualified dependent.
From left, House Minority Leader Angel Demapan, Rep. Roy Ada, seated, Rep. Joel Camacho, Vice Speaker Blas Jonathan Attao and House Floor Leader Ralph Yumul during a break from a House session on Wednesday.
Rep. Tina Sablan delivers her remarks during a House session on Wednesday.
