DeLeon Guerrero forms conference panel for House-nixed appropriation bill

Senate President Edith E. DeLeon Guerrero (D-Saipan) announced yesterday that she has organized a conference committee for the Senate that will sit down with its House of Representatives counterparts to hammer out an acceptable version of a bill that would mandate the Legislature to appropriate all federal funds allocated to the CNMI.

This comes soon after the House soundly rejected the Senate’s version of the bill, House Bill Number 23-9, House Substitute 1, Senate Draft 1.

DeLeon Guerrero said during the Senate session that this Senate team is critical for the Commonwealth primarily because there are some funds that were reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the CNMI government.

The president said there has to be some kind of understanding of how they will define which funds that go into the general fund are considered for legislative appropriations or not.

She said the timing of all of these reimbursements is quite critical because there is a 360-day rule with respect to government accounting.

“The team, I believe, is ready to address the issue. And hopefully we can come out with a great product with the House conferees as well,” DeLeon Guerrero said.

She appointed Sen. Corina L. Magofna (Ind-Saipan) as chair on the Senate Conference Committee and Sen. Karl R. King-Nabors (R-Tinian) as vice chair, Sen. Jude U. Hofschneider (R-Tinian) as member, and Sen. Dennis M. Mendiola (R-Rota) as alternate member.

The House rejected on Thursday H. B. Number 23-9, House Substitute 1, Senate Draft 1.

Rep. Denita K. Yangetmai (D-Saipan), who is the principal author of the legislation, said they are rejecting the Senate amendments for the reason that the reimbursements are not new funds that need to be re-appropriated.

Rep. Blas Jonathan T. Attao (Ind-Saipan) said a lot of these federal funds are essentially used for disasters. He said the government uses general fund monies to address disaster expenditures, therefore it’s kind of eats into the CNMI’s coffers.

Attao said when the federal agencies remit the money back to the CNMI, the government is just putting it back to the general fund. He said what the Senate amendment does is it double taxes the general fund.

Senate President Edith E. DeLeon Guerrero