Senator Togiola Tulafono was the lone senator who voted no yesterday on the House version of the administration bill to establish a Samoan Language Commission.
During third reading of the vill yesterday Togiola pointed out that the funding source for the $150,000 identified in the bill as initial funding for the commission has been obligated and spent on other purposes.
The source of funding is unspent and unobligated surplus funds for Fiscal Years 2019 and 2020.
Togiola said a hearing on the bill had only focused on the tasks of the commission but did not cover the fudning source.
He said since the funding source has already been used for other purposes they need to identify where the funding for the commission will come from.
But Senate President Pro Tem Senator Magalei Logovii who presided at yesterday’s session said the bill was ready for final reading and the time for debate was over.
The bill was approved by a vote of 13 -1 with three abstentions.
The amount of surplus funds from FY2019 and FY2020 was $12.6 million and the administration sent a bill to the Fono to appropriate the money for 18 different purposes. Among them salary increases for the Fono, the constitutional convention, legal fees, salary increases for ASCC and Covid matching funds.
