THE House of Representatives and the Senate remain deadlocked over the payment of the retirees’ bonuses.
Secretary of Finance David DLG Atalig appeared before the full Senate last week and stated that the Legislature must adopt a joint resolution for the creation of a new business unit in which $2.6 million would be reprogrammed from within the executive branch for the payment of the retirees’ bonuses.
Citing 1 CMC Section 7204(d), he emphasized that this was the path moving forward that was agreed upon by the administration, Attorney General Edward B. Manibusan, and the NMI Settlement Fund.
“The Settlement Fund has required us to get the [attorney general’s] opinion and authority,” Atalig said. “Based on communications with the attorney general, that is the direction that the governor’s office and I have charted towards requesting to get this bonus paid to the retirees. We asked for a joint resolution to resolve it.”
On Dec. 15, 2021, the Republican-led Senate adopted Senate Joint Resolution 22-5 to approve Republican Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ request to reprogram $1.3 million from the general fund for the payment of a $500 holiday bonus for each retiree.
But the Democrat-Independent-led House did not act on the joint resolution, and instead demanded more information from the administration about the funding source.
On Jan. 12, 2022, the House unanimously passed H.B. 22-91 authored by Independent Rep. Donald M. Manglona to allocate $1.3 million for the retirees’ bonuses by reappropriating the funds that the governor line-item vetoed when he signed the fiscal year 2022 budget law.
The Senate then unanimously adopted a new joint resolution, SJR 22-9, to approve the governor’s request to create a new program and business unit for the $1,000 retiree bonuses.
“The first resolution, I felt, would’ve resolved the issue and we could’ve had these bonuses paid before Christmas. We are here sitting in the middle of March and we still haven’t resolved this,” said the Finance chief.
“I understand the House and their reprogramming bill. The governor and myself were not requesting any additional funding into the general fund. We’re not asking to increase the general fund budget, and we’re also not requesting a reprogramming appropriation bill. We feel that within the 25% reprogramming authority that the governor has, the funds — originally at $1.3 million — was way under the 25%, including now, where we stand, adding an additional $500 to make the bonus $1,000. This is still within the 25% budget level that the governor has authorization to do so. We just need the resolution to create the business unit to allow us to reprogram. It’s not enough to just create a business unit. We need the joint resolution to include authority to reprogram into the unfunded or new business unit…. Section D, under 1 CMC Section 7204, states how that can be accomplished.”
Atalig said that at this point, no funds have been reprogrammed within the executive branch.
He emphasized that joint consent is needed from both legislative houses to provide the executive with the authority to put funds into the new business unit.
“In my opinion, creating a business unit is not a new appropriation. Giving the governor the authority to reprogram into an unfunded business unit needs joint legislative resolution… The original letter the governor submitted in mid-December was with guidance from the Attorney General’s Office…. We just need the authority to reprogram and allow the governor and the executive branch to reprogram from several business units or departments or agencies where we see fit, and without jeopardizing any operations of the government,” he said.
Minority bloc Sen. Paul A. Manglona, however, said even with the removal of the 100% reprogramming language, “the fact that the governor will restore this $2.6 million back to the general fund without any legislative guidance or constraints of where they will go, this is, in effect, giving the governor $2.6 million at his sole discretion.”
He said this all comes down to the legal opinions of the Senate and the House legal counsels, which, he added, is all the more reason to convene a bicameral conference committee.
“It doesn’t matter what the Senate legal counsels say and it doesn’t matter what the House legal counsels say. The only opinion that will matter is that opinion which both of the legal counsel can agree on, and it is for that reason that I say this will be a third failed attempt to create this unfunded business unit and ultimately to give our retirees their $1,000 check,” Manglona said.
“We can talk here, legal opinion after legal opinion, but the only opinion that will matter is what both counsels can agree on. I, again, say that this discussion should be taking place between our three conferees and the three House conferees so that they can agree. I don’t care if it’s a resolution or not, bill or not, but I believe that the House was very reasonable in their opinion. After all, our Constitution, again, invests in them the significant power of the purse. They just want to see what is going to be reprogrammed. They support the $1,000. They want to do it the right way. For me, personally, I do not agree that you can amend a business unit and put in $1 million or even $1 via a resolution,” Manglona said.
Senate President Jude U. Hofschneider, for his part, said, “I make my decisions based on the guidance of the Senate legal counsel,” to which he then yielded to Senate legal counsel Antonette Villagomez to state her legal opinion.
Citing S.J.R. 19-4 as precedent to support her legal opinion, Villagomez said the Senate has the authority to introduce S.J.R. 22-9 to entertain the governor’s request for reprogramming under 1 CMC Section 7204(d), otherwise known as the Planning and Budgeting Act.
She noted that SJ.R. 19-4 was introduced by the Senate, and later adopted by both houses.
Furthermore, she said it is true that the House controls the purse of the CNMI government, noting that Article II, Section 5 of the NMI Constitution clearly states that appropriation and revenue bills may be introduced only in the House.
“The governor, once we have a budget, cannot reprogram the funds except as provided by law…. [But] once we have a budget, the governor can move around monies without the approval of the Legislature, up to 25% of the executive branch budget,” she said, citing, yet again, the Planning and Budgeting Act.
1 CMC Section 7204(d) authorizes other reprogramming so that if the governor needs reprogramming that is not authorized by or exceeds his legal 25% reprogramming authority, he can still make a request pursuant to this statute.
“Now, the vehicle for the governor’s request to reprogram shall be subject to approval by joint resolution. It doesn’t say House joint resolution. It doesn’t say Senate joint resolution,” said Villagomez, noting that either of the two houses can introduce a joint resolution.
She said this was based on the Constitution, the Planning and Budgeting Act, as well as the attorney general’s recommendation to the executive, hence the drafting of the joint resolution by the Senate.
In an interview on Monday, House Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez said he and Senate President Hofschneider have not talked about a bicameral conference committee.
“We need to come and meet [in the middle],” he said.
