The Senate held an extended discussion Feb. 28 on the governor's communication about a revised FY2025 budget that, lawmakers said, restores 80 hours of work for government employees for the remainder of the fiscal year and includes funding allocations for retirees and municipal operations.

Senator Jude Hofschneider, speaking under communications from the governor (communication 24‑17), told the chamber the revised budget restores the 80‑hour workweek for government employees, provides a 25% payment for retirees and allocates funds for the health network program and municipal operations. He said the budget includes $23,000,000 in authorized expenditures and noted an allocation of $250,000 intended to settle certain obligations owed to the gaming commissioners.

Why it matters: Senators said restoring work hours for government employees was the principal public‑facing goal of the revision. Several members emphasized the budget move was intended to relieve hardship for workers and municipal services, and they framed the package as a short‑term step while the government seeks to recover lost revenue.

Senator Hofschneider detailed the municipal allocations discussed in the session, saying the revised plan includes $300,000 each for mayors Seitman (municipality unspecified in the record), RB Komatsu (Second Senatorial District) and Mayor Aubrey Hocco (First Senatorial District, Luta). He also cited a figure he said represented the pre‑COVID casino industry's total receipts ("$274,000,000") and described portions of that prior revenue stream that supplied government programs and retirement funding.

Multiple senators echoed the emphasis on recovering gaming‑related revenue. A senator who spoke during member discussions said the restored hours and the municipal allocations were the "greater good" that drove passage of the bill that produced the revision; that bill, she said, had moved through the House and Senate and was signed by the governor the same day. Senator Magofna and others urged continued efforts to advocate for and collect outstanding revenues tied to the casino industry, and repeatedly linked that revenue to funding for the retirement system.

Discussion, not additional action: Senators clarified that some members disagreed with elements of the revised budget but supported the package overall so employees could return to an 80‑hour schedule. The Senate did not take a separate recorded roll call on this communication in the excerpted session beyond the floor discussion recorded here.

Clarifying details from the record: the Senate discussion identified (1) restoration of 80 work hours for government employees for the remainder of FY2025; (2) a 25% payment for retirees (amount not specified in the transcript); (3) $23,000,000 of authorized expenditures mentioned by Hofschneider, including a $250,000 allocation referenced as intended to address obligations to the gaming commissioners; and (4) municipal allocations of $300,000 to three mayors as recorded by Hofschneider. The meeting transcript attributes these figures to Senator Hofschneider and other senators speaking during member communications.

What remains unresolved: Senators urged executive branch and other actors to continue pursuing outstanding revenue recovery and to await the outcome of judicial processes referenced in the discussion before considering statutory amendments related to gaming. No additional formal action or vote on new budget measures is recorded in the transcript excerpt provided.

Taper: Senators closed the discussion by reiterating a shared goal of improving employee hours and municipal services while continuing advocacy to recover pre‑COVID revenue streams that they said historically supported government programs.