Lawmakers announced a project to reduce the Legislature’s budget by shutting down four departments and laying off dozens of employees.
Political Coordinating Board Chair Assemblyman Carlos Torres said the unicameral legislature pretends to cut over 56 million pesos or $3.1 million for next year.
The bill to amend the Legislature’s Organic Law was introduced Thursday by Government, Legislative and Constitutional Commission Chair Andrés De La Rosa, a Mexicali member of the National Action Party.
Board members were present during the announcement, including Institutional Revolutionary Party Caucus Leader Alejandro Arregui.
“The goal is to work to make of the Legislature a functional Assembly beginning 2017, with a structure that includes functions and clear attributions set for by the modification project,” Torres said.
The bill includes the cancelling of the secretaries of Parliamentary Services and Administrative Services, consolidating both into one area, and eliminating as well the General and Entailment departments.
The bill also includes provisions to close the Legislative Studies Institute, the Economic and Opinion Research Institute, and the Assembly Library.
Lawmakers seek to pink-sleeve 87 employees, according to the bill text.
A second phase of the restructuring would include the State’s Audit Department.
All these agencies were created in 2010 by then Institutional Revolutionary Party lawmakers who were the majority party within the legislature.
De La Rosa said another goal is to have an austere budget by taking care of taxpayers’ money and stop from being one of the most expensive state legislatures nationwide.
The representative of Mexicali’s District 5 said the legislature’s budget was increased by 200 percent that led to the loss of professionals in some of the main tasks and opening offices that never met goals.
“We look forward to change this inflated structure during the Twentieth Legislature and return it as it was before to have significant savings and avoid from being the second or third most expensive legislature in the country,” De La Rosa said, who added that employees’ rights will not be in jeopardy by reassigning them to other areas according to needs and funding.
The bill was turned to the Government, Legislative and Constitutional Commission, whose members have to approve it by Nov. 3 before turning it to the floor.
Assembly Speaker endorsed the proposal by saying the savings would now be spent in education, poverty and law enforcement.
