Rep. Bility Faults Senate Budget Hearing -Says ‘House of Elders’ Proceeding Strangely, Unlawfully

MONROVIA – Next year’s ‘fiscal instrument’, the National Budget, set by the Executive Branch of Government at US$1.2 billion is not only a corner cut in the history of country; its introduction has provoked an intense national debate as it is emitting strange signals in the corridors of power in the way it is being discussed and processed by the Legislature. And one person on Capitol Hill who is not letting any loophole unidentified is Nimba County District #7 Representative Musa Hasan Bility. There is not a single day passed since the declaration of the first-time billion dollar budget that he would not point to one fault or another. This time, As THE ANALYST reports, Bility is writing the leadership and colleagues of the House of Representatives so that they place a halt to the budget public hearing being conducted by the Senate on grounds seemingly rooted in legislative traditions and constitutional provisions.    

The political leader of the Citizens Movement for Change (CMC) and Nimba County Representative Hasan Musa Bility is requesting the House to formally communicate with the Senate to halt its ongoing budget hearings in order to preserve constitutional order.

In a December 1, 2025 communication addressed Speaker Richard K. Koon and members of the House of Representatives, Bility said: “I present my respectful compliments and write to bring to the attention of this august body a matter of grave constitutional importance concerning the ongoing national budget hearings currently being undertaken by the Liberian Senate.”

He told his colleagues that as they might be aware, the Constitution of Liberia grants exclusive origination authority over all fiscal legislations, especially the National Budget, to the House of Representatives.

“Article 34(d)(0) of the 1986 Constitution provides: All revenue bills, whether subsidies, charges, imports, duties, or taxes, and other financial bills shall originate in the House of Representatives,” Bility told his colleagues futhter.

Under the Liberian constitutional framework, he further said, the Senate “may concur in, or decline to concur in, revenue and other financial bills that have already originated from and been acted upon by the House of Representatives.

“The Senate’s role is therefore clearly subsequent, and any question of concurrence or nonconcurrence only arises after the House has received, examined, debated, amended, and adopted the draft National Budget.”

He argued that the current action by the Senate, conducting budget hearings before the House has acted upon the draft budget, is therefore inconsistent with Article 34(d) and the long-standing constitutional doctrine governing the origination of revenue and appropriation bills, by effectively converting a limited power to “may concur” into a parallel originating authority the Constitution does not grant.

Bility also said the Senate action is “procedurally improper, as no budget can be properly before the Senate for concurrence or no concurrence until it has first been originated and passed upon by the House.”

He also noted that the Senate public hearing before the House ever being taking a look at the budget, is “potentially disruptive, carrying the propensity to cause institutional conflict, legislative disorder, and constitutional uncertainty within our bicameral system.”

Bility added: “Honorable Speaker and distinguished colleagues, the preservation of order, predictability, and constitutional compliance in our legislative process is essential for good governance.”

According to him, the National Budget is the single most important governance instrument of the State, and any procedural irregularity compromises public trust, constitutional harmony, and legislative credibility.

he called on House Plenary to mandate the Honorable Speaker to officially communicate with the Liberian Senate, advising them to immediately halt their ongoing budget hearings until the House of Representatives has completed its constitutionally mandated review and adoption of the draft National Budget, at which point the Senate may properly exercise its constitutional prerogative to concur or not.

“This communication is not confrontational,” he admitted. “Rather, it is necessary to uphold the Constitution; maintain clarity in our respective legislative functions — preserve institutional harmony: prevent procedural chaos; and ensure the budget process proceeds in a manner consistent with law and legislative norms.”

“I trust that Plenary will act with urgency, given the sensitivity and national importance of this matter,” Bility’s letter to colleagues concluded.