CNMI Senate passes FY2026 budget bill with amendments

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate on Sept. 26 passed House Bill No. 24‑46, House Draft 1, as Senate Substitute 1, approving a fiscal year 2026 budget package and a set of committee amendments.

The bill — described by the chairman of the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee as setting a budget ceiling of $179 million for FY2026 — passed on a roll call of eight‑zero after the Senate adopted a committee amendment. Senators and committee leaders said the changes respond to revised revenue projections the administration provided to the legislature earlier in the week.

Fiscal Affairs Chairman Jesus Mossy, identified himself when offering the amendment, and read a list of substantive changes the committee inserted into the house bill. Those provisions included a cap on donated sick leave hours, new reprogramming authority, allocations tied to outside grants, and several special‑revenue and trust‑fund transfers. “Notwithstanding any laws to the contrary,” Mossy read, the bill, as amended, grants the governor up to 25 percent reprogramming authority and gives mayors the same 25 percent reprogramming authority for their municipalities.

The amendments also address several allocations and…