Just hours before the deadline, CNMI Gov. Arnold Palacios signed the Fiscal Year 2025 budget totaling $117M late Monday afternoon.

In his letter to the legislature, Palacios noted, “However, the legislature did not provide funding for continuation of the 25% pension payments, which places our retirees at risk of losing this percentage of their promised benefits.”

He urged lawmakers to address the issue. The Governor also had several line-item vetos, including a subsection that the cnmi medical referral program/health network program includes stipends, airfare, and lodging for patients and escorts in inter-island medical referral services.

He said the appropriation for the health network program is insufficient to cover such costs and the hospital should have the flexibility to identify outside sources to address the budget gap.”