The bill proposes a 30 percent reduction of the lawmakers’ miscellaneous annual funds.
Rep. Victor Hocog, Ind.-Rota and chairman to House Committee on Ways and Means, is the main sponsor of House Bill 16-169 or the Appropriations and Budget Authority Act of FY 2009.
The new fiscal year started yesterday.
Under H.B. 16-169, the executive, judicial and legislative branches, will divide the $156.7 million this FY 2009.
The Department of Public Lands, which gets its funding from public land leases, will have a separate appropriation of over $3 million.
The 10 autonomous government agencies proposed to spend $54 million this FY 2009.
The bill reduced by over $5 million the appropriations for the Department of Public Health, the Division of Youth Services, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Corrections, the Office of the Public Defender, Northern Marianas College and the Public School System.
An equal amount, however, will be added to their respective budgets through the CNMI’s annual Compact-Impact Fund reimbursements from the federal government.
“The secretary of the Department of Finance will distribute the Compact-Impact Funds quarterly to the affected departments or agencies,” H.B. 16-169 states.
The government projects to collect a total of $169.549 million this FY 2009.
However, after bond payments are deducted, the central government will have $156.7 million to spend for its personnel and operations.
The 29 lawmakers — 20 in the House and nine in the Senate — will get $108,000 in their annual miscellaneous funds, down by 30 percent compared to their previous yearly appropriations of up to $155,000 each.
The leadership in the House and the Senate will each get $150,000 — the previous allocations was over $400,000 annually.
The budget bill also mandates strict adherence to the $50,000 salary cap unless the personnel involved works in specialized fields.
It likewise includes a provision prohibiting new or replacement hire in any branch of the commonwealth government through Sept. 30, 2009, subject to certain exemptions.
