By: Eoghan Olkeriil Ngirudelsang

Koror, Palau – The Conference Committees of the Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) have reached a compromise on the budget for the fiscal year 2025, finalizing several key provisions.

Under Senate Committee Report 11-12 for Senate Bill 11-11 SD4 HD5, compromises were made to address various budget items. The allocation for preparing the Senate chamber to accommodate 15 senators was initially proposed at $300,000 but was increased to $500,000, which will now cover both the Senate and the House of Delegates.

Additional key compromises include:

• The Senate agreed to the House of Delegates’ version, resulting in a $200,000 increase for the Office of Public Auditor. This included the removal of funding for the Asia Pacific Parliamentarians Union and the Pacific Islands Parliamentary Group.
• The Senate’s proposed $2 million appropriation for the Social Security Administration, to support supplementary benefits, has been reinstated.
• Both houses unanimously agreed to an appropriation of $3 million for Hawaii’s medical referral housing program, utilizing funds from cyclical reserve and local revenue sources.
• The amount allocated for social assistance to retired and disabled citizens has been modified to $1.4 million.
• The House version includes $1,566,550 for expenditures related to marine transportation and capital improvement projects for 15 outlying state governments.
• Language has been clarified to require the election commission to establish a central polling place in Koror or in another suitable location.
• Provisions related to aircraft registry proposed by the House of Delegates have been removed from the budget bill.

The proposed budget was initially sent to the Senate by President Whipps on July 31. It was passed by the Senate on September 5, then returned to the Senate on September 17 after passing the House of Delegates with numerous amendments, leading to the Senate’s rejection of the House’s version. Conference committees convened on September 18, resulting in the compromise agreement.