SAIPAN — Governor David M. Apatang has asked the Legislature for the flexibility to manage the Commonwealth government’s finances in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Sinlaku, requesting a targeted amendment to the revised Fiscal Year 2026 budget law that he says is preventing the administration from responding to falling revenues.
In a letter dated May 29 to House Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez and Senate President Karl R. King-Nabors, received by both offices June 2, Apatang said the Commonwealth’s fiscal position, already difficult before the storm, is now even more precarious. He said reduced collections in the wake of the storm have made it very challenging for the government to make payroll and stay current with essential obligations.
Apatang said certain administrative provisions of the revised FY2026 appropriations act, Public Law 24-20, have hampered the government’s ability to respond to a downturn in collections. He said that is why he line-item vetoed provisions that he wrote would otherwise prevent him from making proportionate cuts across the branches of government without an entirely new budget submission. Whatever limited ability the government had to absorb a temporary shock before Sinlaku has been wiped out, he wrote, leaving those provisions unworkable under current conditions.
The governor singled out a provision that suspends the salaries of department heads who exceed spending limits set in the annual appropriation, calling it impractical and unfair because the budget law was changed midway through the fiscal year. A footnote in the letter noted that a dispute over the effective transmission date of the line-item vetoes remains unresolved. Punishing program heads for that uncertainty would be inequitable, he wrote.
Apatang said the most fair and expeditious solution would be a limited, targeted amendment to those provisions of PL 24-20, allowing the government to realistically manage its cash flow in the constrained post-Sinlaku environment without violating the law. He asked the presiding officers and all members of the Legislature to work together on recovery, writing that the community is relying on them.
The letter reflects the governor’s position and his request to the Legislature. It does not by itself change the budget law, and the dispute over the line-item vetoes noted in the letter has not been resolved. The letter was copied to the Secretary of Finance and the Special Assistant for Management and Budget.
