Politics

Deadline Looms as Senate Delays Governor's $150M Line of Credit for WAPA Payment, Disaster Recovery

Initially published on April 5, 5:50pm, and updated once with more details of what transpired in the session. Lawmakers in the 35th Legislature during a special session Wednesday voted to hold Governor Albert Bryan's $150 million line of credit legislation until their next regular meeting, dealing a blow to the governor and his team as Mr. Bryan attempts to secure funding to payout Vitol on the behalf of WAPA. The Senate's decision risks a deadline of April 14 — next Friday — to pay Vitol the first $45 million, according to administration officials. However, senators were wary of approving outright the entire $150 million requested by the administration. All twelve senators present voted to hold the measure, in a motion brought by Senator Kenneth Gittens. Lawmakers criticized WAPA and the executive branch for holding negotiations without the knowledge of the Senate, even as the authority knew it lacked the funds to execute the deal with Vitol, and that it would need to engage the Se...