HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Office of the Attorney General is requesting $19.9 million for its fiscal 2024 budget, along with several statutory reforms, including easing of personnel restrictions.
AG Douglas Moylan started his office’s budget hearing with the 37th Guam Legislature, convened Friday morning, by comparing his term, which began in January, to his first term as the island’s elected attorney general 16 years ago.
Moylan said while the office is now larger and the budget is greater, duties remain “either equal to, if not more than when I last served the people.”
He said the office has a unique role in being the glue that keeps all three branches of government together.
Much of the budget presentation was made by Thomas Paulino, general accounting supervisor of the AG’s office, who outlined the $4.2 million increased spending request from the 2023 allocation.
Paulino also discussed several statutory provisions the office hoped lawmakers will consider in the overall budget bill, such as appropriating money to allow the AG’s office to fully implement the 22% pay raises for employees under the General Pay Plan and allowing unclassified attorneys, including Moylan, to have outside employment.
Sen. Joe San Agustin, who chairs the legislative budget committee, said while he supports allowing AG’s office employees to practice law outside of the office, he wasn’t inclined to extend that permission to the AG.
“I have no problem with the attorney general’s (office) permitting outside employment in addition to the employment, but I got a problem with … (the) attorney general that was elected to go outside. That’s the problem I have,” said San Agustin.
Moylan argued that although he became the AG for public service, which includes a pay cut compared to what he was making in his private practice, not being able to assist his family with legal matters runs contrary to the CHamoru spirit.
“I will tell you, I will fight anyone in this government and in the public and in the media to stand up for my family that they need an attorney and I’m the only attorney they have. I will try to defend them,” said Moylan, who said local law previously allowed it.
He said he would abide by procedures informing him how to deal with conflicts of interest involving family members.
San Agustin said he took his initial position mainly to hear Moylan’s argument. The budget chair told the AG he agreed with him on the proposal and will figure out a way to fix it with his colleagues.
Raises
The Guam Daily Post reported in May that employees of the AG’s office hadn’t received their 22% pay raises. Moylan and the Office of the Governor offered contradictory reasons for the exclusion.
Since the publishing of the story, the AG’s office still hasn’t received its raises. Paulino requested $350,000 to fully implement the plan.
It became a hot topic during the budget hearing, as Speaker Therese Terlaje questioned why the AG’s office was requesting the funds since the money should have been appropriated to the Department of Administration.
“You should take it up with DOA, why they’re not covering your employees under that appropriation we gave to them,” said Terlaje.
Moylan said discussions with DOA are ongoing.
Sen. Telo Taitague questioned why the office was coming to the Legislature for the money. Moylan said his office was left off a list of agencies included in the pay raise law. The omission happened unbeknownst to Taitague, who said she tried to have the complete list attached to the bill when it was passed, but it wasn’t done.
Sen. Jesse Lujan said it was “disheartening” to hear the AG’s office was left out of the pay plan. Sen. Chris Duenas called it an “insult.”
“It is an insult as far as I’m concerned, Mr. Attorney General, for the Department of Administration to not have recognized that the General Pay Plan includes your office. … You did not have a duty or requirement to be part of that,” said Duenas.
Adelup spokesperson Krystal Paco-San Agustin told the Post in May that the AG’s office needed to submit a budget request because it’s an autonomous agency.
While not a fully autonomous agency like the utilities, the AG’s office is granted autonomy over its finances.
According to the office’s enabling statute, the AG’s office itself is responsible for “the conduct of operations matters addressing its personnel.” The law also notes that “all expenditures” shall be made “at the direction” of the AG’s office.
The seal of the Office of the Attorney General of Guam is shown May 4, 2023, in Tamuning. The office is hosting roundtable to discuss the Guam Department of Education school reopenings on July 18.
