Legislature advances bill to give former public-health building to Guam Community College for nursing annex

Senators on the Guam Legislature on the floor advanced Bill 21-38 COR, which would transfer the former Department of Public Health and Social Services headquarters property in Manguelo (Manila) to Guam Community College to establish a nursing annex. The bill was amended on the floor to require a formal memorandum of agreement between Guam Community College and the Department of Public Health and Social Services before any grant applications or financing and the appropriation in Section 3 was deleted on the floor.

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Tina Rose Munya Barnes, told colleagues the island faces a critical shortage of nurses and allied health professionals and said transferring the vacant property would let Guam Community College leverage funding and partnerships to expand training capacity. "This measure addresses one of the most pressing needs, the shortage of qualified nurses and allied health professionals," Senator Munya Barnes said. She also said she had discussed the change with Guam Community College President Mary Okada and that the college supports moving forward without the Section 3 appropriation.

The legislatively deleted section would have appropriated $350,000; the deletion motion was offered on the floor and carried with no objections. Senator Munya Barnes and other supporters said Department of Public Health and Social Services has relied on rented space and that placing the lot under Guam Community College ownership would strengthen the college’s ability to secure external grants and private partnerships. The bill, as amended, requires GCC and DPHSS to "finalize plans for the mutual use of the site ... formalized through a memorandum of agreement" before GCC applies for financing or grant funding.

Annette Ugan, a long-time Department of Public Health and Social Services employee who testified during the discussion, urged caution about transferring the property if it would reduce public-health services that historically operated from the Manila site. "The Manila facility also houses the Office of Vital Statistics, Noncommunicable Diseases, Medicaid, MIP, and SNAP or food stamps. It was a one-stop shop in one building, one village," Ugan said. She asked whether the title transfer would protect those public services and whether amendments were needed to ensure clinical services remain available to underserved residents.

Senators discussed related capital activity at the Department of Public Works. Supporters noted the governor has supplied $1,000,000 in ARP funds to DPW for a contract to develop designs for the Manila site; supporters said GCC ownership would facilitate matching grants and make the site more attractive to funders. Opponents and some senators urged ensuring the memorandum of agreement preserves public-health operations that serve vulnerable residents and asked legal staff to consider whether the certificate-of-title language should reflect those protections.

On a subsequent floor motion, members voted to move Bill 21-38 COR (as amended on committee and further amended on the floor) to the third‑reading voting file. The presiding officer asked senators in favor to raise their hands; four hands were counted and the motion was recorded as passing.

The bill will next appear on the third‑reading voting file, where senators will cast final votes on passage. Supporters say the bill would reuse an idle government asset to expand local health‑care workforce capacity; critics warned it could delay reopening or consolidating public-health services unless the required MOA explicitly protects those services.