No cut hours for LB employees

The Legislative Bureau employees’ work schedule will “technically” not be cut as they will still receive 80 hours per pay period, according to Legislative Bureau director Perry John P. Tenorio yesterday.

Personnel hours under the general fund were indeed cut by 10 hours per pay period for all Legislative Bureau staff, Tenorio said, but the bureau will be using American Rescue Plan Act funds to make up for the difference, thereby making their 80-hour workweek possible.

He said the 10-hour cut per pay period for all Legislative Bureau staff will indeed happen. (“That’s required by law and we have to implement that, so 70 hours will be charged toward the general fund.”), but the 10 hours that were cut will be supplemented by the bureau’s ARPA funds.

The Legislative Bureau has 29 employees, including Tenorio.

He said that during the deliberations they had on the budget, it was “very clear” that cuts have to be made on the number of hours under the general fund.

So early on, Tenorio said, he had this discussion with Senate President Edith E. DeLeon Guerrero (D-Saipan) and House of Representatives Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) and that they all agreed that if the funds are available from another source (in this case, ARPA), they should use that so the bureau will be operating without any cuts in hours.

“If you look at the Budget Act, it does provide for outside sources to make up for the reduction under the general fund,” he pointed out.

In their case, he said, because they don’t have any real outside sources except when they were granted ARPA, that’s the only source of money they can use.

Gov. Arnold I. Palacios early this month issued a directive to impose additional cost-cutting measures and cut the work schedule of employees under Executive Branch departments and agencies from 72 hours per pay period to 70 hours, effective Oct. 4, 2023.

Palacios said it has become necessary to impose additional cost-cutting measures and implement the appropriation levels, in light of the passage of Public Law 23-09, or the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget and Appropriations Act.

Perry John P. Tenorio