Legislature meets in session
Guam - After weeks of budget hearings over the summer, the Guam Legislature was set to finally meet in session today to discuss the proposed Fiscal Year 2014 budget.
Lawmakers instead however confirmed close to a dozen board appointments including Manny Cruz to serve as director of department of labor along with three members to the alcohol and beverage control board.
As for the budget, KUAM has learned from Speaker Judi Won Pat's office that none of the senators have received the final version of the budget from Senator Ben Pangelinan's office. Pangelinan or anyone from the Office of Finance and Budget had yet to respond to KUAM's inquiry about the final budget bill. As we reported last week, Senator Pangelinan had called the governor's budget defective and unbalanced concluding the budget severely underfunds income tax refunds, education, retiree health insurance and overall general operations by more than $35 million.
The Governor's Office in the meantime refuted these claims standing by its numbers saying the Administration's track record should speak for itself further questioning the finance chair's past actions and past year's budgets.
According to Won Pat's office, the budget should be ready when lawmakers resume session on Tuesday at 2pm.