The Committee of the Whole reviewed the FY2026 appropriation for the University of Guam (UOG), and Office of Finance and Budget Director Steven Guerrero said the FY26 total includes a $5.7 million supplemental that UOG received in FY25.

"Their level is inclusive of that 5.7," Guerrero said. OFB staff explained that once a supplemental is included in the adopted budget baseline it effectively becomes a fixed cost for the entity in subsequent years unless the committee chooses to remove it.

Committee members raised several issues. Senators asked whether the $1.6 million cultural repository (the Guam Cultural Repository) remains with UOG or transfers to the Department of Tomorrow Affairs (DTA). Guerrero confirmed the repository program was funded at $1.6 million in the executive budget request and the governor requested the program and funds be transferred from UOG to DTA; the bill reflects that transfer and the funding appears in DTA's chapter. Guerrero said the FY25 UOG baseline used for FY26 calculations did not include the floor amendment that had previously moved $1.6 million to the repository, which explains why the repository appears as an additional line in DTA for FY26 rather than a subtraction from UOG's FY25 base.

Senators also questioned Healthy Futures Fund allocations, which direct a statutory share to the Guam Cancer Trust Fund. Guerrero said the FY26 proposal keeps the Guam Cancer Trust Fund at $3,000,000 (the same level the committee set in the recent budget process) even though the statute calls for 15 percent of the Healthy Futures Fund to go to the trust. Guerrero and other OFB staff explained the Healthy Futures Fund collections have not tracked to the statutory 15 percent level; OFB said appropriations from that fund were set conservatively given current revenue tracking. Senators asked which agencies receive the larger shares; OFB named behavioral health agencies and Guam Memorial Hospital among the larger Healthy Futures recipients.

Committee members also pressed for clarity about UOG capital obligations. OFB noted appropriations in the bill for UOG debt service and leaseback payments, including $1.5 million for a leaseback CIP and $500,000 for debt service related to specific UOG buildings.

Ending: The committee accepted OFB’s explanation of the UOG FY26 baseline and noted the repository program is placed under DTA with a $1.6 million appropriation; members requested further review of special fund tracking (education facilities and Healthy Futures) and noted the FY25 supplemental is embedded in the FY26 baseline.