Previous Story
Blanco mulls reprogramming authority
|
Posted on May 24 2019
House Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Ivan A. Blanco (R-Saipan) is looking at granting some agencies reprogramming authority in order to make sure that funds allocated for fiscal year 2020 budget is wisely spent.
This comes soon after CNMI Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro asked the Legislature in yesterday’s budget hearing to grant him 100-percent reprogramming authority.
“We do need to discuss that because…[in] circumstances like this, perhaps it is something that we might entertain. We’ll see,” said Blanco.
The CNMI Judiciary—composed of the Supreme Court, Superior Court, Drug Court, administrative office, and Law Revision Commission—asked for a budget of $11.3 million; Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ budget proposal allots the Judiciary only $5.7 million.
Blanco assured that the House of Representatives will talk about granting full reprogramming authority “because they [Judiciary] is not the only entity that had asked for [it]. …Given the circumstances that we are in right now, that would give us that flexibility.”
However, granting reprogramming authority to an expenditure authority would require a law. A bill must first be introduced at the Legislature—House or Senate—passed by both chambers, and signed by the governor.
