Legislative Bureau Director Glenna SP. Reyes met the employees at 1:30 p.m. yesterday to inform them about the “unfortunate reality.”
“It’s unfortunate that there is no one else to notify them but me,” Reyes said in an interview after the meeting.
All the employees except one who was on leave attended the meeting yesterday.
Reyes’ contract also expires on the last day of fiscal year 2010, or Sept. 30.
Reyes said that because there is still no budget for FY 2011, the bureau is not in a position to renew the contracts of its 26 employees.
House Bill 17-96, or the FY 2011 budget proposal, is still in the Senate and allocates a total of $947, 340 for the bureau, which was allotted $1.6 million in FY 2010.
Reyes said the Department of Finance has advised the bureau it will not certify the availability of funds after Sept. 30 without a new budget for FY 2011.
In order for the bureau to offer new contracts to its employees, a budget must be enacted before Sept. 1, the date on which employees should be notified about the renewal or non-renewal of their contracts.
However, there is no guarantee that a budget will be enacted before Sept. 1.
Even if a new budget is enacted, however, it will still not guarantee the retention of the bureau’s employees.
The funding H.B. 17-96 proposed for the bureau, Reyes pointed out, “is not sufficient,” and the bureau may have to lay off some of its employees.
She said the employees will be given the opportunity to avail of any accrued annual leave benefits prior to the expiration of their contracts.
Leaves of absence will be spread out among the employees so the bureau can continue serving the members of the Legislature up to Sept. 30.
Reyes said the bureau will contact the Office of Personnel Management to assist the employees in securing Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act benefits for the temporary continuation of their group health coverage.
