Governor Pulaalii Nikolao Pula is maintaining his stance that he has constitutional authority over the administration of all executive departments, and changes to the personnel budget made by the Fono “could be viewed as an attempt to control the Governor’s personnel decisions.”
The Governor reiterates his authority in an October 16 letter in which he responds to correspondence from the House Speaker and Senate President concerning his actions on the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
Pulaalii said the authority to manage personnel and execute the laws resides with the Executive Branch while the Fono’s authority extends to the enactment of laws, including appropriation of budget sums based on revenue projections.
“The deliberate reduction of personnel budgets in specific departments, seemingly based solely on the Fono’s disagreement with a department leader’s salary, title or its belief that the director is subject to legislative confirmation, constitutes an overreach of legislative authority and violates the separation of powers guaranteed under the Revised Constitution of American Samoa,” said the Governor.
Pulaalii wrote that the Fiscal Year 2026 budget that the administration proposed was reduced by an unprecedented $25 million (compared to the FY2025 budget) and described it as a “fiscally responsible budget that breaks the cycle of overspending.”
And he pointed out that ordinarily budgets are balanced, with total revenue matching total spending. As an example, the FY2025 budget passed during the last administration included total projected local revenue and spending of $165.9 million. However, the FY2026 budget that the Fono transmitted to him contains $519,000 more in revenue than in spending.
The Governor stated that while the FY2026 budget specifically states that unbudgeted revenue cannot be spent without the Fono’s authorization, the $519,000 referenced has been budgeted, so it does not fall under that rule. And further the budget includes “no explanation about the money’s intended purpose.”
In their letter the Fono leaders had said the Governor erroneously stated changes of $7.8 million made by the Fono to the budget. Pulaalii said this figure does not appear in his correspondence with the Fono. The statement was made the following day and he did not attribute this difference to the Fono’s actions.
KHJ News points out that a press release that was issued by the Governor’s Office said the FY2026 budget summary shows a slight overall reduction of $7.8 million from the Executive’s proposal of $815.4 million to the Legislature’s approved $807.6 million budget.
The Governor said his statement merely noted that these changes stemmed from updated departmental reporting, not from legislative adjustments. And he added that this issue highlights the importance of maintaining consistent coordination and communication between their respective fiscal teams.
