After being withdrawn from the agenda following a superior court case ruling, Bill 2 (1-S) -- now labeled Bill 1 (5-S) -- by Governor Lou Leon Guerrero is back and up for a real debate on the session floor. The vote came after weeks of debate over who has authority to approve utility contracts for the proposed to support Central Guam and the proposed Mangilao hospital.
Senators William Parkinson and Tina Muña-Barnes were the only lawmakers to support the measure, warning that inaction could cost Guam the $104 million in American Rescue Plan funds. “We may already be hemorrhaging money as we speak because of the continued political delays caused by the AG's Office. The AG’s Office was never meant to be a unilateral veto over the projects of the executive branch" Parkinson said.
“It’s not ideal, but we as a body have an opportunity to act and we should. Anything else is moral cowardice.”
Senator Barnes echoed the urgency, noting the island has a history of letting federal grants expire before use. But other senators said the bill raised legal and procedural concerns. They had called for representatives from GPA, GWA, the Attorney General’s Office, the Governor’s Office, GEDA, GHURA, BBMR, DOA, and GSA procurement counsel to appear.
However, representatives from both utilities and both offices did not show, leaving the body unable to directly question the parties most involved in the project.
Speaker Frank Blas Jr., Senator Chris Barnett, and Senator Therese Terlaje questioned whether the legislature had enough information to bypass the attorney general’s review. “The people we needed to really ask the questions to didn’t show up," noted the speaker, with Barnett adding, “Now, we’re in this position where we’re trying to get people off the hook who would actually be responsible for losing this money.”
And Terlaje said, “This is the legislature. Why are we not entitled to see the documents that they’ve sent to the Treasury or any communication with the Treasury? Why are we not entitled to see GPA and GWA’s plans?”
Speaker Blas called the lack of information “disingenuous,” while deputy GHURA director Fernando Esteves and BBMR director Lester Carlson testified about the federal deadlines for spending the funds. “Even if they did go out, and the lawsuits clear up, they may just not have enough time to do it and expend the money before the expenditure deadline," Esteves said,
Carlson added, “The utilities would have loved to have this dilemma settled months ago, so that they could have proceeded.” Carlson also warned that if contracts aren’t in place soon, federal funding may expire at the end of 2026.
After the measure failed, Governor Leon Guerrero addressed the public Wednesday. She said the attorney general refused to approve the projects despite compliance with federal ARPA rules, saying, “While those agreements were drafted lawfully, the Attorney General refused to act." She added, “And so a bill became necessary – because without his signature, the utilities could not legally proceed, and federal deadlines would close in on us. We had to create another lawful path to move forward.”
The governor emphasized that her administration had revised the bill multiple times and limited it to one parcel with no litigation, but lawmakers still rejected it. "And by following the Attorney General’s refusal instead of doing their duty, they abandoned the people they were elected to serve," she said.
She concluded with a promise to continue advocating for the hospital and infrastructure upgrades. “But hear me clearly: I will not abandon you. I will not abandon our hospital. I will not abandon the infrastructure upgrades our island needs," said the governor.
"And I will not abandon the belief that Guam deserves better than this moment.”