The bicameral conference committee agreed in a meeting yesterday that a revenue generating measure will be introduced in the House as separate legislation.
In an interview, Sen. Jovita M. Taimanao, Ind.-Rota, said they met yesterday to make sure that the agreement was mentioned in their committee report.
The committee will finalize the final version of the austerity bill before it is introduced in the House early next week, she added.
For her part, Vice Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan, finds it “not realistic” to incorporate revenue generating provisions in the austerity bill.
She also told the members of the bicameral committee that they must act on the bill this Monday.
The revenue generating measures that the Senate proposed included an increase in amusement machine and automated machine license fees, the excise tax, the bar tax and a reduction in the tax rebate rates.
The austerity measure will reduce government work hours from 80 to 70 by shutting down government offices every other Friday for the rest of fiscal year 2010, which ends on Sept. 30.
Essential agencies will be exempted: the school system, Public Health, Public Safety, Corrections and federally funded posts.
