The Chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, Senator Magalei Logovii, didn’t mince words in his reaction to a statement by Treasurer Ueligitone Tonumaipe’a yesterday that the governor and attorney general had advised him not to speak on any matter that is not on the agenda of the special session.
The treasurer had been called to explain the interim appropriations bill that the governor proposed to operate ASG until a FY2021 budget law has been signed.
Magalei, a former treasurer said after Tonumaipe’a was excused that the special session was called by the governor and the only matter on the agenda was his proposed appropriations. He said to hear statements like that from the treasurer makes light of the service of senators who are showing up to deliberate the bill at the governor’s call.
He said why are we bothering to show up then if the government witnesses are told not to speak on the bill?
He also took issue with the treasurer’s statement that the bill was not from the administration’s.
Magalei said the bill was from the governor and it was Governor Lolo who called the special session.
He said statements by the treasurer have unsettled senators when they are trying to resolve the budget stalemate.
The outcome of yesterday’s Senate session was passage in second reading of the Senate version of the administration bill which includes just one change the reference to the Fono not passing the Fiscal Year 2021 budget was removed and the wording was changed to show that the Fono reviewed and approved the FY2021 budget and sent it to the governor for approval or disapproval. A third reading of the bill is set for today.
Because the Senate bill is different from the House version a conference committee is likely to try and reach a compromise.
