Conference committee approves $1M split for schools and tourism recovery in House Local Bill 24-74 SS2
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Summary
A CNMI conference committee approved a conference committee report on House Local Bill 24-74 SS2 that appropriates $1,000,000 — $250,000 for the Public School System and $750,000 for the Marianas Visitors Authority — and requires that the PSS funds be used for instructional expenses and that both agencies report expenditures. The report passed unanimous conferee votes on both House and Senate sides.
The CNMI Legislature conference committee voted to adopt a conference committee report on House Local Bill 24-74 SS2 that appropriates $1,000,000, with $250,000 designated for the Public School System (PSS) and $750,000 for the Marianas Visitors Authority (MVA).
Representative John Paul Sablan moved the main appropriation during the committee session and said, "I now make a motion that we appropriate the 1,000,000, on this conference, committee meeting, 2 50 to PSS and 7 50 to MVA." The motion was seconded and placed on the floor for consideration.
The committee accepted an amendment requiring that the $250,000 allocated to the Public School System be dedicated to instructional expenses and that both PSS and the MVA submit expenditure reports to the managing director after the full appropriation is spent. Representative John Paul Sablan introduced the amendment, saying the provision "that these funds are dedicated for instructional expenses" and that a new section be added for expenditure reporting.
Senator Jude U. Hofschneider, chairman of the Senate conferees, urged swift action during debate, warning that low tourism arrivals have pushed hotels to cut employee hours and that the situation "can be catastrophic, to say the least." Floor leader Donald Manglona said he supported the intent of the proposal while stressing the need to ensure municipal needs in the 1st and 2nd Senatorial Districts are addressed through other available resources.
The committee adopted the amendment by voice vote, and both House and Senate conferees then recorded unanimous affirmative votes for the conference committee report. The House conferees recorded as voting yes were Representative Ralph N. Yumo, Representative John Paul P. Sablan and Representative Bloss Jonathan BJT Attau. The Senate conferees recorded as voting yes were Senator Francisco Q. Cruz, Senator Donald M. Magnolia and Senator Jude U. Hofschneider.
Chairing members said staff will prepare the conference committee report for formal consideration by both chambers and, if approved, to forward the measure to the governor for enactment and disbursement. The committee adjourned after completing the vote.
The committee did not specify a timetable for disbursement or further oversight hearings beyond the expenditure-reporting requirement; those implementation details will depend on subsequent actions by each house and agency reporting.
