Sen. Adelbert Bryan is petitioning his colleagues for a Senate session in which to override Gov. Charles Turnbull’s veto ordering the Public Finance Authority to pay $20 million to pay government employees.
In a letter to Senate President Vargrave Richards on Monday, Bryan said his request should be expedited to "avert a further degradation of the social and economic conditions of the territory."
On Tuesday, Hortense Rowe, Bryan’s chief of staff, said they would be in a better position Wednesday to comment on how many senators have signed the petition. Bryan will need 10 of the 15 senators to sign in order to call a session.
Turnbull vetoed Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen’s PFA amendment that was attached to a bill appropriating $11 million to pay salary increases for striking teachers. The bill was passed in a special session of the Legislature more than a week ago. Hansen’s amendment, which passed on a 7-6 vote, called on the PFA to contribute $20 million in earnings on interest on government bonds.
In his veto message, Turnbull said there was not $20 million in "uncommitted, unrestricted or unattached resources in the PFA accounts."
Also against the PFA plan is Sen. David Jones. He called Bryan’s petition a "bogus attempt to continue to mislead the people . . . in this instance teachers."
Jones said language in the Revised Organic Act prohibits the Legislature from calling a session to override a veto generated from a special session of the Senate.
