House override on budget likely

House Ways and Means Committee chair Ray Yumul yesterday said the consensus of the House leadership is to go for an override of Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s budget veto as he said he would.

“But since we need 14 votes, some of the minority members have to also vote in favor of override. We are contacting certain minority members for their support at this time,” Yumul said.

Rep. Tina Sablan also hopes the 20-member House will have enough votes to override Fitial’s budget veto.

The governor has until today to act on the second budget proposed by the Legislature for fiscal year 2009.

The proposed budget is $156.76 million, which includes $148 million in projected local revenue collections.

House Speaker Arnold I. Palacios said that signing the budget does not prevent the governor from implementing cost-saving measures. He said the Legislature has already cut costs while the Executive Branch continues to hire people for non-critical positions.

“You can’t expect employees who have worked for 10 to 12 years to have continuous cuts in salaries and at the same time continue to hire more people not holding critical positions. It’s not appropriate,” he said, adding that there should be some sense of consistency in implementing belt-tightening measures.

The Senate has yet to come up with a consensus, according to Senate President Pete P. Reyes.

“We will wait for the governor’s official communication,” he said.

Sen. Maria “Frica” T. Pangelinan, chair of the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee, hopes her colleagues will carefully consider the available options if the budget bill is vetoed. She pointed out that, even with the governor’s proposed austerity measures, the government cannot avoid deficit spending unless hiring is curtailed and a budget is passed.

Pangelinan said the budget that is on the governor’s desk matches the revenue estimates from his latest official communication.

She said if the governor has knowledge of further declines in revenue estimates, he is required to inform the Legislature about it so it can be dealt with.

Fitial vetoed the last Legislature-approved budget of $165.4 million, citing an $8 million drop in projected local revenue. He then slashed government budgets across the board by 5.5 percent for the rest of the fiscal year.

Pangelinan said the austerity measures as proposed by the governor are not going to save enough in personnel costs to avoid overspending in FY 2009, particularly if hiring is not strictly controlled.

“The reality is that current economic conditions demand smaller and leaner government. We cannot have it both ways,” she said.

Pangelinan said House Bill 16-213 uses attrition as the main tool for lowering personnel costs.

“The majority of positions which are vacated may not be filled. There would be a freeze on new hiring. There are certain exceptions which are clearly delineated, designed to preserve the provision of basic public services. Expenditure authorities are expected to make decisions about how to not exceed their appropriations,” she said.

The senator said she cannot support putting 64-hour workweeks in place while allowing hiring to continue without strict controls. Current employees of the government would be dealing with the impact of reduced wages while their losses fund new salaries, she said.

Pangelinan said operating under continuing resolution has been a disaster.

“FY 2008 ended with $173 million in spending under a continuing resolution of $160 million. After some final adjustments and the last minute arrival of $17.2 million in a cover over settlement from the IRS, the fiscal year ended with no operating deficit. It was good fortune, not good planning,” she said.

The projected revenue for FY 2009 is $148 million for general fund operations and approximately $8.6 million in other resources, totaling just under $157 million. With this knowledge, according to Pangelinan, the first quarter ended with trends that forecast the spending of $180 million.

“The continued practice of overspending simply makes no sense. The only reasonable course is to get a budget in place that will put a stop to it. The budget bill that’s on the governor’s desk does just that. I hope that my colleagues will carefully consider the available options if HB 16-213 is vetoed. What we know as fact is that ‘business as usual’ is not working,” she added.