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Committee advances amendment to appropriate excess business privilege tax to Guam Memorial Hospital pharmaceutical fund
Summary
The Committee of the Whole advanced an amendment to substitute bill 44-38 COR that would appropriate excess Business Privilege Tax collections—estimated at about $10.9 million—to the Guam Memorial Hospital pharmaceuticals fund, while members sought validation of the amount and a clear funding source.
The Committee of the Whole advanced an amendment to substitute bill 44-38 COR to appropriate excess Business Privilege Tax (BPT) collections owed to the Guam Memorial Hospital (GMH) pharmaceuticals fund, lawmakers said during floor proceedings.
Senator Metinani introduced language “to add a new section to chapter 8” directing that excess BPT collections from prior fiscal years be appropriated to GMH for purposes authorized by “subsection 26‑208, article 2, chapter 26 of Title 11, Guam Code Annotated,” the amendment text says. Committee remarks cited a cumulative shortfall to the pharmaceutical fund of about $10.9 million from fiscal year 2019 to the present and an additional roughly $721,000 in fiscal year 2025.
Why it matters: committee members said the hospital’s pharmaceutical fund lost deposits when adopted budget caps prevented full transfers of BPT proceeds, creating an unpaid balance they now aim to restore through the amendment.
Discussion and concerns
Several senators…
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