The Substitute Bill No. 112-36, As Substituted by the Committee on Health, Land, Justice and Culture was submitted to the Committee on Rules on November 10, 2022 and was posted on the Legislature website.

You can access a copy of Substitute Bill No. 112-36 (COR) at this link. 

A Summary of Substitute Bill No. 112-36, As Substituted by the Committee can be found below:

A Roundtable / Public hearing will be held on November 22, 2022 at 2:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. in the public hearing room at the Guam Congress Building.

The public is invited to provide oral testimony at the Guam Congress Building, Public Hearing room. Written testimony may also be submitted via email senatorterlajeguam@gmail.com or hand delivered to the Office of Speaker Therese M. Terlaje at the Guam Congress Building. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals requiring special accommodations should contact the Office of Speaker Therese M. Terlaje at (671) 472-3586 or senatorterlajeguam@gmail.com . All hearings broadcast on GTA TV Channel 21, Docomo Channel 117/112.4, and livestream on the Guam Legislature YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GuamLegislatureMedia.

The Committee Report for Bill 291 and Committee Vote sheet was submitted to COR on November 10, 2022.

You can access the Bill 291-36 (LS) Committee Report and Committee vote sheet below: 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (November 10, 2022 – Hagåtña, Guam)  

Speaker Therese Terlaje introduced Bill No. 357-36 (COR) which extends the Prugraman Ayuda Para I Taotao-ta Energy Credit Program and provides GPA customers with a $500 credit toward their account over the next five months. If passed, GPA customers will receive a $100 credit every month from December through April 2023.

The current Prugraman Ayuda Para I Taotao-ta Energy Credit Program is set to end in November, however ratepayers continue to suffer from increased power rates from the Guam Power Authority.  In October, the Public Utilities Commission decided to increase the Guam Power Authority fuel surcharge to nearly 32 cents per kilowatt-hour which would amount on average to a $22 increase in the total average monthly bill for residents using 1,000 kWh. The new rate will apply beginning in November and will last through January 2023, when the PUC will consider the surcharge again.

Bill No. 357-36 proposes to use unappropriated general fund revenues collected in excess of the adopted revenues levels of the FY 2022 Budget Act.  The government collected $103.5 M more in general funds than what was adopted in the FY 2022 Budget Act, according to the September 2022 Consolidated Revenue and Expenditure Report (CRER).  The CRER also subtracts all other FY 2022 and FY 2023 general fund appropriations from the $103.5 M excess revenues, still leaving an unobligated general fund revenue amount of $47.5 M for FY 2022. The appropriation in Bill No. 357-36 is for $26.3 M to the Guam Power Authority for the energy credit program.

“Many in our community are still feeling the economic impacts of inflation and the global pandemic and are in need of assistance, especially for basic monthly expenses like energy and gas prices. The government currently has excess revenues and must act now to provide this relief. It is my hope that the Legislature can act swiftly on this measure before the term ends,” stated Speaker Terlaje.

Bill No. 357-36 can be found here.

on the Late Master Ifit Carver, Robert Philip Taitano

FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE (Saturday, November 5, 2022- Hagatña, Guam) Today, our island has lost a strong and steady advocate of CHamoru culture, creativity, and resilience. Our hearts are heavy upon learning that Master Ifit Carver, and member of Guam’s Greatest Generation, Robert Philip Taitano of the village of Yigo, has passed away at the age of eighty-four. 

Master Robert Philip Taitano was a carpenter by trade, and a largely self-taught woodcarver, that began as a hobby in the 80’s, and then flourished into a business upon a growing demand for his exquisite wood pieces. For the last four decades, we were blessed with his artistry, and have admired and sought after the many carefully crafted and intricate wood pieces made by his steady hand. Each hardwood piece that he carved into life, whether it be a wooden table, a chongka board, cabinet, a Latte Stone plaque mounted by an ayuyu, or kamyo siya in the shape of the Haggan Bedi, materialized the beauty and uniqueness of our CHamoru culture and resilience and inspired a sense of pride.

For years, Taitano was commissioned to carve wooden nameplates for senators of the Guam Legislature, the speaker’s and judges’ gavels, a podium for former Guam Governor Edward Baza Calvo, and has made gift pieces for dignitaries at the request of Guam’s Delegates to the US Congress. Among his most exceptional wooden pieces were thirteen high-backed ifit chairs used to seat President Clinton and other dignitaries during an historic visit to Guam in 1998. The chairs are now housed in a museum in Hawai’i. Master Taitano also carved the Presidential Seal as a gift for the Commander-in-Chief.

On 29 April 2011, Robert Philip Taitano, was formally recognized in a ceremony as Master Folk Artist by the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency. Master Taitano’s artistry and craft will live on through the steady hands of three of his sons, and others who have had the honor to have apprenticed under him, be inspired by his work.

On behalf of the 36th Guam Legislature, and the people of Guam, we send our deepest sympathies and prayers for peace and comfort to his wife Antonia Santos Taitano, his children Cindy and Tommy Hoover, Joseph Taitano and June Delgado, Bill Taitano, Mark and Lupita Taitano, Rodney Taitano, David Santos and Darlene Cruz, Johnny Taitano, Margaret Taitano and William Smith, Robert Jr. and Tanya Taitano, Jennifer, and Martin Torres, his 37 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.