Senators Move to Provide WAPA With Funding, Pass Bill To Rein In Power of Governor

In an emergency legislative session punctuated by two lengthy recesses, the territory’s lawmakers passed three bills. One authorizes central government to cover the Water and Power Authority’s current obligations, another re-appropriates funds to pay current year WAPA bills for the territory’s two hospitals and the Waste Management Authority. The third adds a category to state of emergency classifications, and seeks to insert some measure of legislative oversight over the process.  Senate President Novelle Francis began Thursday’s emergency session by acknowledging that the consequences of not keeping WAPA “solvent and operational” would be “devastating to our residents, businesses and the economy.” Every senator, he said, “is aware of their …responsibility to do all that we can to support WAPA.” He maintained that it remains imperative, however, to keep the authority accountable.  Chair of the Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance Senator Donna Frett-Gregory then special-o...