Attorney General asks legislature to approve $1.6M to recruit attorneys, cites backlog and payment disputes

Attorney General Mullen asked the Guam Legislature’s Committee on Finance and Government Operations on May 7 to recognize prior-year lapses and to approve an additional $1.6 million so his office can recruit and retain lawyers it says are essential to prosecuting crime and handling civil legal work.

"Who you going to call affects all parts of our lives," Mullen told senators in his opening statement, framing the request as fiscal support for both law-enforcement and civil functions. He said the office currently has about 30 attorneys, needs at least 50 to meet obligations and estimated a full complement would be 96 attorneys to cover prosecution, solicitors work, family and civil cases.

Why it matters: Mullen told the committee that shortages have real public-safety consequences amid rising meth-related crime, higher jail population and more complex prosecutions. He said prosecutors and staff are working weekends and that vacancies exacerbate the office’s inability to process arrests and represent government agencies in civil matters.

Budget and lapses: The AG described the request as a $3.2 million package that includes $1.6 million the office projects as available from lapses plus $1.6 million in new appropriations to hire lawyers and support staff. Committee staff and senators reviewed recent fiscal figures with the AG: FY2025 expenditures and encumbrances were described at about $20.489 million, FY2026 authorized level roughly $26.656 million, and the FY2027 request about $30.268 million. The committee noted an increase in federal match funding for the child-support program reported in the AG’s materials.

Federal match and child support: The AG’s acting controller, Dulce Kado, confirmed the office expects federal-match revenue to rise (the office reported roughly $2.2 million in federal match in fiscal 2026 and asked for an increase to about $3 million in FY2027 largely tied to the child-support program). Committee staff placed the child-support division’s total federal funds near $6.194 million after the reported increase.

Solicitors workload and contract reviews: Deputy Lee Miller, who leads the solicitors division that reviews procurement and grant agreements, told the panel that from April 2025 through April 2026 the division received 661 review requests and completed 418; he said roughly 240 matters remain open and estimated 150–175 are active and ongoing. The panel discussed how that workload affects agency procurements and the AG’s capacity to assign in-house counsel to other departments.

Contract payment dispute: Mullen told senators that a privately contracted attorney, identified in the hearing as Carol Bolas, stopped providing child-support services after the AG’s office fell behind on payments. Mullen said the office owes her "in excess of $100,000" and warned the committee the dispute may require in-house attorneys to litigate to recover funds or to cover the work while the contract is unresolved. There was no formal response to that claim from the administration in the hearing record.

Allegation of executive interference: Mullen also said the governor’s office and Department of Administration had restricted his office’s ability to spend a 2026 appropriation. He described that as an intentional impediment to using funds to recruit attorneys and pay contracted services. The governor or administration representatives did not respond during this hearing.

Prosecution staffing and burnout: Chief Prosecutor Curtis Vandereld told the committee prosecution currently has about 15 attorneys in general prosecution and three in the family division (18 total). Vandereld and Mullen described frequent overtime, weekend work and vulnerability to coverage gaps if staff take leave; they said defense firms and the public defender’s office often recruit AG hires by offering higher pay.

Next steps: Committee members said they will continue to scrutinize the AG budget request and the accounting of prior-year lapses in the committee budget process. Senators emphasized they want to ensure fixed costs and contractual obligations are funded while also reviewing how lapse carryovers are treated for audit and appropriation purposes. The transcript does not record a committee vote or final appropriation decision at this hearing.

(At the hearing the AG introduced staff and panel members and the committee reviewed the governor’s proposed executive-branch figures under Bill 266-38; the hearing focused on the AG’s staffing and operational needs rather than on programmatic changes.)