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Committee approves multiple housekeeping budget corrections; motions to overrule chair fail
Summary
The Committee of the Whole approved a series of technical budget amendments for agencies including Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security and the Fire Department, while senators twice failed to overrule the chair on procedural rulings that moved contested items to miscellaneous provisions.
The Committee of the Whole approved a sequence of technical amendments to the proposed FY2027 budget on housekeeping and appropriation language, while twice rejecting attempts to overrule the chair's rulings that certain amendments were out of order.
Senator Gubitato moved several corrections clarifying appropriation lines for agencies. She said the Veterans Affairs amendment would "appropriate the sum of $1,246,443 from the General Fund to the Guam Office of Veterans Affairs for its operations for fiscal year 2027," asked the Clerk's Legal office and OFB to make technical corrections, and the chair called the amendment passed after "seeing and hearing none" object. Similar technical corrections were approved for the HHY Commission ($726,566), the Office of Civil Defense in Homeland Security ($1,485,963), and a revised Fire Department appropriation that specified $38,658,704 from the general fund and $2,584,088 from enhanced emergency funds.
At least two amendments were ruled out of order by the chair because he said their proper placement belonged in the miscellaneous provisions rather than the chapter under consideration. One of those rulings touched off a motion to overrule the chair; a senator objected and moved to overrule, arguing the amendment amended an existing subsection and should be considered. The chair called for a hands vote and the motion to overrule failed. The chair repeated the ruling with a second contested amendment later in the session and again the motion to overrule failed.
Senators debated bookmark procedure for chapters and whether language tied to leasebacks and loan obligations belonged in chapter 1 or the active chapter, with one senator arguing past practice had treated similar items differently. The chair said bookmark rules were stated at the outset and that once a chapter is closed an amendment cannot be inserted into it; the chamber then completed chapter 5 and moved to chapter 6.
The procedural rulings left several senators urging that disputed corrections be placed in the miscellaneous provisions so they could be addressed later. The chair repeatedly asked clerical staff to make technical corrections to passed items before moving on.
Votes at a glance: all technical amendments called during the session were recorded by the chair as passing without objection when no senator spoke against them. Motions to overrule the chair failed on voice/hands votes.
The committee recessed at the end of the day and will reconvene at the preannounced time.
