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Guam Legislature substitutes bill clarifying predevelopment financing for Simon Sanchez project amid procurement objections
Summary
The Legislature voted to substitute and advance Bill 235-38 — clarifying allowable predevelopment uses of a prior $16M appropriation for Simon Sanchez High School — after floor debate about procurement risks, fiscal notes, and whether added financing language was publicly heard.
The Guam Legislature on the floor substituted and moved Bill 235-38 into the third-reading voting file after extended debate over new financing language and whether the change risks interfering with an ongoing procurement for the Simon Sanchez High School rebuild.
Unidentified Speaker 2, the bill’s author on the floor, moved to place the substitute bill into the third-reading file and said the amendment simply enumerates financing options already contemplated by existing statute and by BBMR, and clarifies that predevelopment costs — including demolition, clearing and grading — can be paid from the previously appropriated $16 million-plus balance. “There have always been offerings under the Macauhad [Makaha] Act,” the author said, adding the language merely clarifies and is ministerial in nature.
Opponents, including Unidentified Speaker 3 and Unidentified Speaker 5, objected that the substitute was materially different from the bill publicly heard, lacked a clearly updated fiscal note and could “meddle” in a live DPW procurement, potentially exposing the government to monetary damages if an award is later cancelled or protested. “We do not know the extent of these monetary damages,” one objector warned, citing 2 GCA requirements for fiscal notes. Multiple senators pressed whether the solicitation and award had already included predevelopment-stage expenses and asked to see a list of those costs.
Supporters countered that legal counsel and BBMR reviewed the substitute and cleared it as not substantively different; the author said his staff included former GEDA and Department of Administration officials who advised that enumerating alternatives (including CDFI programs, EB‑5, capital magnet fund and other federal mechanisms) simply clarifies the Macauhad/Makaha Act financing provisions. The floor record includes repeated references to BBMR director Lester Carlson and GEDA administrator Tina Garcia; Garcia reportedly told the committee she could not speak fully because of procurement-related concerns during the hearing.
After multiple motions — including attempts to strike the newly added section and to return the substitute to committee — failed, the body voted by hand/voice to place the substituted Bill 235-38 into the third-reading voting file.
What happens next: The substitute bill will appear in the Legislature’s third-reading voting file for a future roll-call vote. Opponents asked for committee-of-the-whole review and additional documentation (a list of anticipated predevelopment expenses and clarity on whether such costs were included in the November solicitation). Supporters said those details were discussed during budget deliberations and in BBMR communications.
