(a) General Authority. For the purpose of procuring the services of accountants, physicians, lawyers, dentists, licensed nurses, other licensed health professionals and other professionals, any governmental body of Guam may act as a purchasing agency and contract on its own behalf for such services, subject to this Chapter and regulations promulgated by the Policy Office, but this Subsection shall not authorize the procuring of such services where any given governmental body is otherwise prohibited from procuring such services.
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(b) Approval of Contracts for Legal Services. No contract for the services of legal counsel in the Executive Branch shall be executed without the approval of the Attorney General. Nothing in this Section or Chapter shall preclude the Attorney General or his designee from participating in negotiations for any contract upon the request of the government officer or agency primarily responsible for such negotiations. (c) Approval of Contracts Generally. The Chief Procurement Officer, or his designee, or a procurement officer of an agency authorized to procure the services or supplies in question, as stated in the Rules promulgated by the Policy Office, shall execute all contracts for the government of Guam. The Chief Procurement Officer may approve standard form contracts or purchase orders which shall include a demonstration of compliance with §§ 5801 and 5802 of this Chapter, where applicable, and once such approval of the standard form is given, contracts or purchase orders made on such form may be executed without the further approval of the Chief Procurement Officer unless he has reserved such power of approval pursuant to the applicable rules promulgated by the Policy Office. (d) Approval of Contracts by Department of Revenue and Taxation. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Director of the Department of Revenue and Taxation or his designee shall have exclusive authority to approve and execute all contracts for the procurement of license plates, safety decals, tax forms, tax booklets and printing services and other materials and supplies used exclusively by the Department of Revenue and Taxation. For the purposes of this section, the Department of Revenue and Taxation is exempt from the provisions of the Guam Procurement Act (Chapter 5, Title 5, Guam Code Annotated). (e) Approval of Contracts by Government of Guam Retirement Fund. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Board of Trustees of the Government of Guam Retirement Fund shall have exclusive authority to approve and execute all contracts for the procurement of professional services associated with the operation of the Fund. The Board may enter into contracts providing for alternative dispute resolution (including mediation and arbitration) of controversies arising between the Government of Guam Retirement Fund and its professional service contractors, if, in the Board’s discretion, alternative dispute resolution is determined to be in the best interests of the Government of Guam Retirement Fund. SOURCE: GC § 6954.7. MPC § 2-302 modified. GC § 6107. Subsection (d) added by P.L. 18-015:X:43 (Sept. 28, 1985); amended by P.L. 20-221:50 (Dec. 31, 1990). Subsection (a) amended by P.L.25-121:5 (Apr. 19, 2000). Subsection (c) amended by P.L. 28-165:2 (Jan. 4, 2007). Subsection (e) added by P.L. 28-188:2 (Jan. 29, 2007), amended by P.L. 32-146:3 (Apr. 28, 2014). 2024 NOTE: Past print publications of the GCA did not include the amendment to subsection (d) by P.L. 20-221:50 (Dec. 31, 1990). The omission has been corrected. NOTE: Subsection (a) amended by P.L. 25-121:5. However, P.L. 25-121:5 purported to amend 5 GCA § 5151(a). The language therein was identical to that in section 5121(a) but for the addition of “licensed nurses, other health professional” and the replacing of “Territory” with “Guam.” Compiler believes the use of section 5151 to have been a manifest clerical or typographical error. COMMENT: Subsection (a) recognizes that the procurement of the services of professionals usually requires extended analysis by the procuring department, and procurement is needed for the specific purposes of the department. However, the final clause is added by the Committee on General Governmental Operations to make sure that this Subsection does not authorize the use of, for instance, legal services, where other law, i.e., that pertaining to the Attorney General, does not authorize an entity to use its own legal counsel. Subsection (b) recognizes the general primacy of the Attorney General over all legal matters of the Government of Guam. Other laws provide what agencies may and may not hire their own counsel. Obviously, the Attorney General cannot act contrary to those laws, but he should have the authority to check and make sure an agency does not hire its own counsel when it is not authorized to do so. Subsection (c) recognizes that neither the Governor nor the Attorney General sign routine purchase orders - which are contracts. The Committee determined that neither the Attorney General nor the Governor should be required to sign procurement contracts. However, since existing law states that all contracts are not executed until
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signed by the Governor, this Section must state when procurement contracts are executed. If the Attorney General or the Governor wish to review any contracts, this Section will not prohibit it.