Guam International Airport Authority officials told the Legislature’s Committee on Transportation, Tourism, Customs, Utilities, Federal and Foreign Affairs on July 24 that the authority is owed $9,254,000 in back aviation fuel tax dating to 2018 and is asking the government to appropriate funds or enter a promissory arrangement to repay the amount.

The sum stems from Public Law 34-44 (2018), which increased the aviation fuel tax from 4¢ to 8¢ per gallon. Comptroller Daphne Shimizu told senators the additional 4¢ created what GIAA records as “AFT arrearages” for 2018–2023 and that those amounts are recorded as receivables on the airport’s books.

Why it matters: The receivable is material to the airport’s balance sheet and was discussed by credit analysts. Moody’s on July 7 affirmed GIAA’s Baa2 rating but revised the outlook from "stable" to "negative." Comptroller Daphne Shimizu said the rating affirmation means no immediate change to debt-service payments; Deputy Executive Manager Ricky Hernandez told the committee that the outlook change reflected a combination of factors including passenger volumes and the broader economic environment, rather than the arrearage alone.

“We had almost 1,900,000 enplanements or enplaned passengers” in FY2019, Comptroller Shimizu said in the hearing, and passenger declines during COVID drove a sharp revenue shortfall that the airport partly covered by federal COVID relief and by restructuring debt. Shimizu described three ways the authority sustained cash flow during the downturn: expense reductions, federal COVID relief (CARES, CRRSA, ARP) totaling roughly $64 million, and bond transactions that shifted debt-service obligations.

Hernandez said the FAA approved a corrective action plan that allows either a lump-sum repayment without interest or a five‑year promissory note that would carry interest measured from Sept. 30, 2023. The airport staff estimated five‑year payments at roughly $2 million per year if a promissory plan is used; Hernandez said the actual interest rate would be tied to published U.S. Treasury rates as of the specified date.

Senators pressed whether the money was still in a government account and where it had been used. Shimizu said the funds were recorded in the government’s special revenue reports (Guam Highway Fund) and that she could not specify internal uses for those funds; she committed to providing a written summary to the committee. Former Congressman Michael St. Nicholas and several senators urged the committee to examine whether a section 30 (cover-over) argument or other federal remedies could change where funds should reside.

What was not decided: The Legislature did not vote during the hearing on appropriation or repayment terms. Committee members said they would consider the item in the upcoming budget process, but several senators said the $9.254 million is unlikely to be a high appropriation priority in the current budget cycle and asked executive branch budget officials for details on any proposed promissory arrangement.

Discussion highlights and next steps: GIAA said it will provide the committee with correspondence between the governor’s office and the FAA, the FAA corrective action plan, documentation of the $9,254,000 receivable, and a proposed repayment schedule. The committee signaled it will review those documents with the Department of Administration and the Bureau of Budget and Management Research ahead of budget adoption.

Ending: Airport officials emphasized that debt service remains the airport’s top priority, and committee leaders said they will continue to review whether repayment should be included in the FY2026 executive budget or handled via a promissory note subject to legislative appropriation.