Senators unanimously pass budget bill

by Ken Quintanilla

Guam - Lawmakers unanimously passed the substituted Fiscal Year 2013 budget act this morning. And as the bill makes its way to the Governor's Office, the Guam Legislature is now looking ahead to address Governor Eddie Calvo's omnibus spending cuts bill.

All 15 senators voted in favor of Bill 426. Vice Speaker B.J. Cruz said, "We tried to cut everybody and try to live within our means. We used what the expenditure has been for the last ten months and projected it so that everybody is going to be on a very tight budget as it is, so I'm glad we unanimously passed the bill and I'm proud of the Legislature for doing so."

It was on day one of budget sessions when the committee substituted the governor's original budget submission. The governor's budget was for $772.5 million in expenditures while the committee's substituted version called for $770.9 million. The bill meanwhile outlined $100 million that would automatically be set aside to go toward 2012 income tax refunds while the executive, legislative and judiciary branches would require operations be cut by a total of $14 million, the savings of which would go toward paying past due tax refunds.

Minority Leader Frank Blas, Jr. says the passage of the budget bill will provide GovGuam with the operational funds necessary. "Obviously there are concerns with regards to some of the cuts may need to be made for the tax refunds and I think in separate legislation that's going to be the continued discussion on this," he stated.

And while the budget bill made $14 million in cuts, according to the Governor's Office that still isn't enough. It was last week when the governor's Omnibus Fiscal Reform Act of 2012 or the spending cuts bill was submitted to lawmakers and currently sits with Vice Speaker Cruz's Committee on Government Operations. Cruz says while the bill wasn't addressed on during budget sessions, he intends to conduct separate public hearings with affected parties late next month.

"I want the Retirement Fund to come in and explain what s going to happen to them, there are several of the leave provisions that we're going to need to talk to parents and employees about, how they feel about how this is going to affect them and decision that they need to make," he said.

He has since asked the Calvo Administration to send his office its working papers on how it came about the potential savings which is estimated at over $70 million.

Governor's director of communications, Troy Torres, meanwhile says the Governor's Office is waiting to receive the bill and look over several of the changes and amendments made. He however hopes lawmakers move quickly on the spending cuts bill. He told KUAM News, "We hope they move forward quickly, that they get the public comment that is necessary and that they make tough decisions. I understand this is election season, but this certainly can't be punted down the line passed an election, we need to cut spending now, yesterday."