By By Haidee Eugenio Gilbert Pacific Daily News

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Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero on Wednesday signed into law a measure giving the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority $40 million to fix its electrical systems and fund its operational costs and supplies, while also telling senators to account for their decision to prioritize “wealthy businesses” over the community’s needs.

The Republican-led Legislature voted to roll back the business privilege tax from 5% to 4.5% by Oct. 1, 2025 and to 4% by Oct. 1, 2026 as part of the fiscal 2026 budget bill.

The governor vetoed the budget bill with the tax rollback.

The half-percentage point cut means a government revenue loss of about $40 million, and a one-percentage point cut means more than $80 million in annual loss in revenue that could have gone to public health, safety and education, Adelup has said.

“The crisis at GMH is only the first of many circumstances in which our Legislature will undoubtedly be confronted with their improvident intent to cut a critical revenue stream in a time of great need,” the governor wrote in her message to Speaker Frank Blas Jr. in signing the $40 million GMH funding bill into Public Law 38-59.

$90M bailout in 2 years

The newly signed public law giving GMH $40 million also authorizes the hospital to spend up to $5 million specifically to replace, repair and/or maintain its information technology.

It’s the third and largest bailout bill for GMH in less than two years.

With lawmakers and Adelup giving $30 million in late 2023 and $20 million late last year, the total bailout for the public hospital in two years has now reached $90 million.

“The bill was hard-fought, and though I welcome its passing, I would be remiss not to acknowledge the fiscal challenges our government will face in funding critical measures like this one in the future if the Legislature persists in enacting its intended budget for the upcoming fiscal year,” the governor stated in her transmittal letter to the Legislature.

She pointed at certain factions within the Legislature that were “poised to abandon our hospital altogether, seeking to deflect responsibility for its repair to unavailable sources of funding”—American Rescue Plan Act funds that she said have been fully obligated and cannot be diverted to other purposes.

Over $100 million in ARP funds were locked in for the Mangilao hospital project.

‘Flawed’ provision

The governor noted a section in the $40 million GMH bill that she described as “legally flawed,” raising the question of whether a declaration of emergency is required to be able to use up to $5 million to replace or repair the hospital’s electrical system and up to $5 million to fix its IT infrastructure.

“Fortunately, Bill 1 does not require that GMH utilize the confused method provided in Section 3 in order to access the appropriation, nor does it limit the use of procurement methods otherwise available under the law to replace, repair or maintain GMH’s electrical system,” the governor wrote.

A declaration requires the governor’s action through an executive order, while a certificate requires action by the chief procurement officer or the head of the purchasing agency.

“Notwithstanding the confused language in Section 3, I am confident that GMHA and other agencies coordinating in its response, including the General Services Agency and the Guam Power Authority, have the necessary authority under existing law to accomplish the procurements needed to address GMH’s needs,” the governor wrote.

This story will be updated.