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CIP bill now ‘dead,’ says Manglona
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Posted on Jul 06 2005
Senate majority leader Paul Manglona said that the bill espousing the removal of the Executive Branch’s expenditure authority over federal funds is now practically “dead.”
He cited “problematic provisions” and the apparent lack of support for the attempt to override the governor’s veto of House Bill 14-144.
“I don’t think it would pass the Senate because it requires six votes. Plus, the more we look at the bill, the more we see problems with it,” said Manglona.
A veto override must be done within 60 days after the governor vetoes a measure.
Manglona said this means there is a limited time to resolve the problem areas that he sees in the bill.
Two weeks ago, some Senate members tried—but failed—to overturn the governor’s veto on the bill.
Senate minority leader Pete P. Reyes and Sen. Joseph M. Mendiola had pushed for the override; however, other members of the nine-person Senate reportedly wanted more time to act on it.
H.B. 14-144 seeks to require legislative approval prior to the use of federal funds, specifically the Capital Improvement Projects and Compact Impact funds.
The Legislature used to exercise this authority over 702 funding but this stopped in February 2004 when the federal government signed a new 702 CIP agreement with the CNMI, which took away the local matching requirement for CIPs.
The Governor’s Office said the new agreement “unambiguously provides that the CNMI Executive Branch is the grantee and spending authority for all federal funds to be used for CIPs.”
Further, the Babauta administration said that the bill “impermissibly encroaches upon the authority of the U.S. Congress to appropriate federal funds” as it amends the CNMI law related to the use of “federal grant funds” to require legislative approval on “state” level prior to the expenditure of such funds.
Manglona earlier said that bill’s veto could not be reversed at anytime without careful study and consultation with affected agencies.
He said there is need for a legal opinion and a need to hold public hearings to allow agencies that currently receive federal funds to air their concerns.
The bill was authored by House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial.
