Does the governor have the organic authority to bypass procurement law in a public health emergency? That's the basic question the attorney general is asking in a newly filed lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment from the Superior Court of Guam.

In the lawsuit, the Office of the Attorney General raised the question of whether the emergency health powers act allows the governor to suspend a regulatory statute, specifically the procurement law if it would hinder the ability to respond to a public health emergency.

Specifically, the suit references the hastily put-together deals by the administration at the onset of the pandemic in March of 2020. It procured quarantine facilities at the Days Inn, Wyndham Garden, Pacific Star Hotel and the Fiesta Resort.

In a news release, AG Leevin Camacho acknowledged the differing opinions of the Superior Court and the Office of the Public Auditor. Camacho referenced the high court’s opinion in May of this year that, "the governor has broad authority to establish, maintain and operate quarantine stations."

But he also notes a legal opinion in an OPA audit that the governor did not have the authority to procure quarantine facilities and that her emergency authority was limited by the procurement law. Public Auditor BJ Cruz it should be noted, is a former chief justice of the Superior Court.

Meanwhile, the AG’s lawsuit seeks to clear up the issue once and for all. It asks the court for declaratory judgment in whether the procurement law applies to the governor's acquisition of quarantine facilities and whether it's valid during a public health emergency in light of the emergency health powers act.

Finally in his news release, the AG points out that both the OPA and some senators who were critical of his defense of the quarantine procurement had ample time to seek the high court's opinion, but did not do so.

The governor's office issued a statement on the AG's suit.

"Guam may soon confront the highly transmissible Omicron variant, and we need to all be on the same page about the scope of the Governor's Organic Act authority to establish quarantine stations, and protect Guam-a question already settled by Guam's Superior Court," the Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said in the statement.

Adelup adds that the suit finds her actions appeared consistent with her power to establish quarantine stations granted by the Organic Act.

"The establishment of the quarantine facilities to immediately respond to the influx of hundreds of potentially infected individuals also appeared authorized by Guam law, which allows for emergency purchases when immediate action is needed to respond to a declared public health emergency such as COVID-19," the governor said.