GOVERNOR Ralph DLG Torres is “exploiting the plight of retirees in a desperate attempt to attack the House of Representatives that is ready to hold an impeachment proceeding against him,” Rep. Edwin Propst said.
Propst is member of the House Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee, which has conducted an investigation into the governor’s public expenditures that led to the recent introduction of a House resolution calling for his impeachment.
In his latest live appearance on Facebook, Propst said the governor is “playing a political game” so that the retirees will blame the House for not adopting Senate Joint Resolution 22-5, which approves the governor’s request to reprogram $1.3 million for the retirees’ $500 bonuses in time for the holidays.
Citing Section 7402 of Title 1 of the Commonwealth Code, Propst said the governor knows he has 25% reprogramming authority.
According to 1 CMC Section 7402 (b) “The Governor may reprogram funds appropriated by the annual appropriation acts for the operations and activities of departments, agencies, and offices of the executive branch up to 25 percent cumulative and in total…”
The $1.3 million the governor proposes to give the retirees as a bonus, Propst said, is far below the 25% threshold, so clearly, the governor has the legal authority to reprogram that fund, and that he doesn’t need the Legislature’s resolution to approve it.
The governor earlier said that he had agreed with the NMI Settlement Fund trustee and the Office of the Attorney General that a joint resolution “is the best course of action to take” so that the retiree bonus payments could be distributed.
The Senate unanimously adopted the joint resolution, but the House did not act on it last week.
Instead, the House leadership said the administration should provide information about the funding sources for the retirees’ bonuses.
According to Propst, the governor wants to make the House leadership “look bad in the eyes of retirees.”
He reiterated that the governor has the legal authority to reprogram the required funds without any approval from the Legislature.
Propst also echoed the concerns that Vice Speaker Blas Jonathan Attao raised during last week’s session about the governor’s proposal to use federal ARPA funds to “backfill” the $1.3 million that will be taken from the general fund.
Attao said, “We all know that under ARPA, we cannot use any of the funds to address pensions.”
Propst said the governor made a promise to the retirees “prematurely, and that’s the frustration that we have. He made the retirees elated or excited without telling them what they, the retirees, really need to hear.”
By making it appear that his proposal requires legislative approval, when it really doesn’t, Propst said the governor is “using the retirees as ‘pawns’ in his dirty political game.”
“He is misleading the people,” Propst added.
Variety was unable to get a comment from the governor’s office.
Vice Speaker Blas Jonathan Attao, left, and Rep. Edwin Propst confer during a House session on Oct. 20, 2021.
