by Sabrina Salas Matanane

Guam - The Attorney General has been asked to determine what would happen if the governor is off-island and vetoes a bill while on that same day the acting governor signs it into law on-island. Senator Judi Guthertz is seeking answers following Governor Felix Camacho's signature on the Fiscal Year 2011 Healthcare Insurance Rate Plan.

Acting Governor Mike Cruz had sought for the rates to be re-examined and re-negotiated but yesterday while in California, Camacho signed the contract.

Governor's Deputy Chief of Staff Shawn Gumataotao contends the governor is still in charge of the island - even if he's not physically here. "For wherever the governor is at, if he has to act on important documents or actions related to the business of government, he can act on that wherever he is in the world," Gumataotao said.

He also noted, "The AG was very clear that we must sign the contract prior to October 1; he's very adamant that we could use facsimile to use that technology to get the documents to the governor and for him to return it back to Guam to effectuate it and finalize it for our GovGuam employees."

Gumataotao added that the Guam Legislature had plenty of time to look at the contract and rates instead of criticizing it at the eleventh hour. While there's been a push for Calvo's SelectCare to reveal its utilization and medical loss ratios and administrative costs, the company will be required to provide that information come January 1, when a new law goes into effect.