Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said she would not issue an emergency declaration over the availability and high price of fuel on Guam.
In a Friday evening address, she said she is in contact with fuel suppliers, the Guam Power Authority and the military, and she has been assured that the fuel supply remains stable.
Gas prices on the island – and throughout the world – have spiked since the start of the war with Iran.
As of Sunday, a Guam consumer could expect to pay about $100 for 16 gallons of regular gas.
“We elect leaders to solve problems," Leon Guerrero said in her address. "But no executive order gives a governor superpowers, and no emergency declaration from Guam can reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”
The request for the declaration came from Sen. Jesse Lujan, who also suggested using $104 million in American Rescue Plan Funds to provide roughly $1,600 to each Guam taxpayer.
In a response, Leon Guerrero said emergency declarations must be grounded in clear and immediate threats to public safety or the continuity of essential services.
She said neither of those conditions have been met, but she will not hesitate to act "should circumstances materially change."
As for providing direct payments to taxpayers, Leon Guerrero said the government of Guam "has already received guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury outlining allowable and prohibited uses of these funds. Based on that guidance, the type of direct, across-the-board payments being proposed is not an authorized use."
The governor planned to use the money to install infrastructure in Mangilao for a new hospital, but efforts to do so have been opposed by the Guam Legislature.
