Guam Supreme Court upholds executive power to build hospital, but clock is ticking on federal funds

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

The governor of Guam has the authority under the Organic Act to build medical and public health facilities, the Supreme Court of Guam has ruled, noting that the attorney general cannot invoke a local statute to block executive access to federal grants for a hospital project.

While welcoming the ruling, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said the federal funds in question, which were supposed to be obligated by December, are at risk of forfeiture.

“Unfortunately, being right does not give us back the time that was wasted while the attorney general and the legislature played these political and legal games,” Leon Guerrero said.

The case stemmed from Attorney General Douglas Moylan’s bid to veto the contracts for water and power infrastructure projects in Mangilao, where the governor seeks to build a new hospital.

The governor has earmarked $100 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the stalled projects, designed to prepare the site for the construction of a new hospital

 “While we are grateful that the Supreme Court has now provided clarity, these delays have placed federal funding at risk and reduced the amount of time available to put those funds to work for the people of Guam.”

“This ruling is clear, decisive, and confirms what we have maintained from the very beginning: the law does not give any Attorney General the power to unilaterally block a governor from building a hospital with federal funds,” Leon Guerrero said.

“The people of Guam deserve a modern hospital. Today’s ruling removes any doubt that the Organic Act grants the governor the authority to move forward with that mission,” Leon Guererro said.