Senators behind AI-gate must be held accountable, Guam Democrats demand

Admin
Jun 18
4 min read

Updated: Jun 18

Election-year scandal mars gubernatorial campaign

By Jayvee Vallejera

The contract with a Guam company to provide AI-assisted bill-drafting services for the Guam legislature may already have been terminated, but two senators said the Republican leaders behind the contract still have a lot to explain about the “sweetheart arrangement.”

Sen. Chris Barnett, a Democrat, questioned why the Guam legislature needed to pay TRST-Guam LLC when the vendor failed to meet the basic terms of the contract and has not provided any access and training on using the platform.

Vice Speaker V. Anthony Ada terminated the legislature’s contract effective June 9.

Barnett said the termination of the contract suggested that Ada, Speaker Frank F. Blas Jr., Sen. Sabrina Salas Matanane and TRST-Guam might have been aware of the transaction anomaly.

“They should still be held accountable for this breach of the public’s trust in the name of special interest political patronage,” said Barnett in a news release. “It is mind-boggling that the Republican leadership would bind and expose the legislative body to an unvetted, unsecured, and untested AI platform.”

The controversy emerged at the height of the primary campaign.

Blas and Ada are seeking the Republican nomination for governor.

Barnett pointed out that GovGuam’s Office of Technology and other officials have warned against trusting inexperienced AI vendors, yet TRST-Guam LLC has not yet proven that it meets the basic parameters for certification and that the authenticity of the services it recommends is recognized by regulatory entities.

Barnett said most senatorial offices have not heard from TRST-Guam LLC, despite the contract's claim that the system has been activated and training on the platform would be provided to senatorial offices by June 1.

“I question what compensation, if any, is due to the vendor,” he said.

Barnett pointed out that senators can already avail themselves of AI drafting services for free or for much, much less than what TRST-Guam was charging the legislature.

The contract's value was not known at the time. The platform was intended for a six-month rental, including other fees and charges.

Barnett said the unresolved ethics complaints about the contract should still be addressed.

Blas has reportedly assigned Sen. Shawn Gumataotao to lead the Ethics Committee investigation into these complaints.

Barnett noted a potential conflict of interest.

Gumataotao is chairman of the Republican Party of Guam, and assigning him to investigate a contract involving two GOP governor candidates and a sitting Republican senator “is an egregious conflict of interest,” he said.

Barnett said the continued silence of the Republican leadership on this matter has left many unanswered questions.

“The vendor’s political ties to the Republican majority expose this contract for what it really was—an election-year political payday. It’s clear the Republicans have to buy loyalty from those who have switched sides, but the Legislature must not be used as a political piggy bank to bankroll the Republicans on their quest for Adelup,” he added.

Blas and Ada have not responded to our request for comment as of this writing.

Earlier, Sen. Therese Terlaje said the law used as the basis for the contract—Public Law 38-119—was enacted to meet the legislature’s cybersecurity and IT needs, not for AI bill drafting services.

Terlaje, a Democratic candidate for governor, said Public Law 38-119 was passed on the promise it would deliver cybersecurity for the Legislature.

Ada, who authored the bill, and other legislative personnel had emphasized the need for cybersecurity during deliberations on the measure.

Yet Ada never disclosed during deliberations that the funds to be appropriated by that bill would be used for AI bill drafting, Terlaje said.

Nor did he disclose that he planned all along to enter into a contract as soon as April 1 for AI bill drafting using those funds, she added.

The legislature’s director also failed to submit a plan for the use of the funds allocated under the bill, Terlaje said. A plan would have clearly indicated whether cybersecurity or an AI bill drafting contract was the true intent, she added.

Ada’s bill passed the legislature on March 27 and Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero signed it into law on April 8.

Terlaje said the AI bill-drafting contract became effective on April 1, seven days before the governor signed the bill into law.

Terlaje said the language of the bill was specific to “cybersecurity and automation,” including “to make its information available to the public,” and AI for chatbots, data management and tracking, never indicating AI research or bill drafting for senators.

In light of this contradiction, Terlaje has asked the legislative counsel whether funds authorized by P.L. 38-119 may be used for an AI bill-drafting contract.

Also, in light of the reported non-competitive nature of the AI bill-drafting contract, she has asked the Legislative Counsel whether the contract's procurement is authorized by the Standing Rules and Guam law.

Terlaje believes transparency in legislative proceedings should be the Guam Legislature’s priority “over unnecessary and undisclosed bill drafting contracts.”

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