Senator wants to move OMB to Finance

02/20/25 - Senate President Dennis Mendiola introduced a Senate Bill that would establish the Office of Management and Budget within the Department of Finance.

In an interview with Marianas Press, Mendiola said that because a 1994 executive order established OMB in its current form, his proposal would streamline government services by placing the responsibilities under Finance.

“There’s three branches of government. The problem is OMB gets to decide when you yank the judicial branch’s funding, the legislative branch’s funding on the fly, without any notification and we still have to execute our fiduciary responsibility which is a constitutional mandate. But the power lies with OMB,” Mendiola explained.

The Senate President said that while the CNMI’s overall population has declined, the size of government has remained the same. He wants agencies to share resources so that consumers ultimately do not foot the bill in taxes. He also noted that budget projections would be more uniform if the bill becomes law.

“This is not an attack on any agency. It is just trying to streamline the government and figure out how do we make it more efficient for our people,” he said.

Mendiola said it's a proposal that has been discussed for the past three years and now he wants to take action.

The draft Senate Bill can be read at https://cnmileg.net/leg_sts.asp?legID=19803&secID=2

-----

Story by Thomas Manglona II