FIFTEEN House members led by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Stanley T. Torres have introduced a resolution which seeks to give the Office of the Public Authority reprogramming authority over funds in excess of the agency’s budget prescribed by P.L. 11-41 or the existing budgetary act.
House Joint Resolution 13-9 specifically seeks to give OPA the authority to get additional funds from its special account from prior year’s accumulated surplus and from other savings in various office expenses.
The funds will be used for OPA’s relocation expenses and for the repatriation and annual leave cash out amounts for the agency’s retiring resident employees and non-resident workers whose contracts will soon expire.
Torres, R-Saipan, said while OPA is currently leasing office spaces in Gualo Rai, it has decided to relocate its offices to several government houses on Capitol Hill to save on rental expenses. But this will require expenses for repair and renovation of the facilities, he said.
