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Senators debate using FY25 excess revenues to fund Guam Memorial Hospital, Typhoon recovery and other supplements
Summary
Lawmakers debated diverting FY25 excess revenues to accelerate $20M for Guam Memorial Hospital, $15M for Typhoon Bobby recovery, airport and childcare needs; administration said funds could be made available if language is revised and asked for written requests for new supplemental bills.
Senators spent substantial floor time asking whether excess revenues collected above adopted FY26 levels can be used immediately to address several new funding requests, including a proposed $20 million for Guam Memorial Hospital (GMH), $15 million for Typhoon Bobby recovery, $17.7 million for airport needs and $11.4 million for childcare providers.
"If you appropriate the money, it stands," Guerrero said when explaining the difference between an appropriation and a lapse and how revised legislative language could make funds available sooner in the fiscal year. He and other administration officials said certain supplemental requests would be supplied in writing and that some items were newly proposed by BBMR and OFB.
Senators pressed why these items were being presented at this stage. "What's news is that after the governor announced you had taken care of childcare, that now you're coming back and saying we haven't taken care of it at all," one senator said, reflecting concern about earlier public statements and current gaps in execution.
Members also debated the proposed rollback in the business privilege tax (BPT) from 4.5% to 4% and whether that change would be compatible with funding high-priority items. The administration said the governor was open to moving from a fixed 4.5% position if the body demonstrated that the big-ticket items were addressed through excess revenues, revenue adjustments or other means.
The committee heard multiple budget-technical clarifications during the exchange, including an accounting correction on a bond set-aside and the difference between appropriations and lapses. No supplemental bills were adopted during the session; members asked for written proposals and another round of review before committing to the new requests.
What's next: The administration will send supplemental requests in writing and the committee scheduled further amendment sessions; senators signaled they want more documentation and time to vet new items before approving use of excess revenue.
