Previous Story
Full reprogramming measure now a law
|
Posted on Jan 20 2006
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial signed into law yesterday a bill giving him unrestricted reprogramming authority until a budget law has been enacted for fiscal year 2006.
House Bill 15-33, which became Public Law 15-1, is the first law to be enacted under the Fitial administration.
Fitial said the new law was a product of a meeting he had with the respective leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006. The House and the Senate passed H.B. 15-33 in their first regular session on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
According to Fitial, the quick enactment of the law signifies the unity of the Executive and Legislative branches of the government.
The bill would grant the governor unlimited authority to reprogram funds available under Public Law 13-24, the last enacted budget law. This authority covers funds appropriated to all public corporations, autonomous agencies, and other entities of the CNMI government.
“The Legislature finds that it is financially imperative that the new administration be authorized reprogramming authority over and beyond the provisions of 1 CMC 7402 in order to avoid a fiscal crisis and deficit spending. The purpose of this act is to assist the new administration with prioritizing needs until a comprehensive budget for FY 2006 is enacted,” a portion of H.B. 15-33 read.
However, the governor’s reprogramming authority excludes funds restricted from reprogramming by federal law, federal grant conditions, CNMI constitutional prohibitions, and deposit and other security restrictions related to bond covenants and the financing of public projects.
The governor also cannot touch trust funds invested by the Marianas Public Land Trust and the NMI Retirement Fund, and all funds appropriated under all local laws.
Furthermore, the governor will not be allowed to reprogram funds of the legislative branch, judicial branch, Washington Representative’s Office, mayors, or municipal councils.
