A new legislative measure seeks to amend Guam’s procurement law.
Bill 112-37, introduced yesterday by Republican Sen. Thomas Fisher, would remove the authority of the Office of the Attorney General of Guam to advise an autonomous agency during procurement proceedings.
Under Guam law, the attorney general can advise an autonomous governmental agency for procurements exceeding 500 thousand dollars.
A governmental autonomous agency is not funded from the General Fund and unlike government agencies, it is able to hire attorneys to advise and represent them.
According to Fisher’s bill, this process is “unnecessary, duplicative and overly time-consuming,” adding that it “impedes the autonomous agency from fully accomplishing its mission.”
If enacted, the piece of legislation would amend a section of the procurement law for the Attorney General’s office to give legal counsel only to non-autonomous government agencies in the event of procurement.
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