by Mindy Aguon

Guam - The Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority has its legal counsel, Mark Smith, reviewing two conflicting attorney general opinions on the board's authority. Board chair Dave Sablan says concerns had been raised by previous management that the board was acting outside its scope and violating local procurement laws.

A recent AG opinion found the board must comply with local laws, something Sablan says it does in most instances, but a 1987 AG opinion gives the board some discretion. "The '87 opinion of the attorney general says you can do that," he explained. "The board has discretion to make those policies when there's some differential between federal statutes and local procurement law and the reason for that discretion is the fact we are 100% federally funded here at GHURA, therefore since this money belongs to the federal government how we use it must be according to federal law."

The board has inquired with the Attorney General's Office about the conflicting opinions and has also tasked its attorney with reviewing the matter for clarification.