The 38th Guam Legislature advanced 26 of the 27 bills on its agenda of its second legislative session. Voting was held in the evening of June 3 at the Guam Congress building.
While measures on intergenerational daycares, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits at restaurants, and leasing authority at the A.B. Won Pat International Airport passed, Sen. Therese Terlaje’s bill on establishing a public private partnership with the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority failed on the legislature floor by an 8-7 vote.
In a statement following the ending of the session, Terlaje expressed her disappointment.
“It is futile to build a modern hospital facility only to carry over the same management issues that have plagued GMH for decades,” she said.
Terlaje argued that a private partner would allow for efficient and cost-effective operations at the hospital, given its current fiscal and facility issues.
Sen. Shelly V. Calvo’s measure to establish a Restaurant Meals Program within the Department of Public Health and Social Services passed with a 14-1 vote.
Sen. Chris Barnett opposed the measure, stating that the long-term impacts of the bill “would take us further away from achieving real food security.”
Barnett argued that restaurant meals are typically more expensive than home cooked meals and that diverting SNAP funds towards restaurants would drive families deeper into poverty.
He said access to fresh food, supporting local growers, and investing in programs that teach families how to extend their SNAP benefits should take precedent. See Guam's farming industry generates $6.16M amid renewed agricultural interest for more on Guam’s farming industry and how it impacts local food security.
Barnett also stood in sole opposition to a measure by the speaker of the 38th Guam Legislature, Sen. Frank F. Blas Jr., a measure exempting non-resident active-duty service members and their dependents from Guam driver’s license requirements.
Barnett said that “this measure penalizes the people of Guam while granting privileges to those who don’t call our island home,” in a statement; pushing for fairness and equity among Guam’s drivers. See Steering motorists to become better drivers, not just licensed ones for more on Guam’s driving school industry.
Lawmakers also passed measures on requiring business privilege taxes on receipts and tax rebates for healthcare providers who participate in the Medicaid program.
Sen. Christopher M. Dueñas’s “Business Privilege Tax Transparency Act of 2025” passed with a 11-4 vote; Sen. Sabrina Salas Matanane’s Medicaid BPT rebate measure passed with a 12-2 vote with 1 excused. Calvo excused herself from the voting due to a conflict of interest.
Measures on providing a dollar-for-dollar offset against lease payments for property improvements at the Port of Guam and granting authority for the Guam International Airport Authority to enter into 15 year concession agreements and 50 year leases for airport property both passed with an 11-4 vote.
Sen. Jesse A. Lujan, who authored both measures, said in a statement, “The airport and port are not just physical gateways; they are economic engines. Their modernization is long overdue, and these bills finally help us move in the right direction.”
Lujan’s measure on the use of biodegradable paper bags by businesses also passed with an 11-4 vote. mbj