FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE (May 25, 2018 – Hagåtña) – Vice Speaker Therese M. Terlaje introduced Bill No. 290-34 (COR) which will make it the ministerial duty of the Director of Administration to set aside income tax receipts to pay for tax refunds, pursuant to a formula set by the Department of Revenue and Taxation.

“There already is a strong statute in place that should compel the administration to set aside money for tax refunds. This amendment, by describing it as a ministerial duty, is an attempt to give the statute some teeth to allow for legal action if the law is not followed. This is one tool we can use to ensure income tax receipts are properly deposited,” stated Vice Speaker Terlaje.

View Bill 290-34 (COR) here:
http://www.guamlegislature.com/Bills_Introduced_34th/Bill%20No.%20290-34%20(COR).pdf

March 15 2018 – “I just wanted to explain my vote on Bill No. 248 so it is very clear.  This bill does several things.  First, it puts a Business Privilege Tax on many but not all businesses on Guam.  It raises that Business Privilege Tax by one percent.  It puts a sales tax on all families, on all retail and service transactions, regardless of income or struggle. It tells the people that this Legislature has no issue with the Executive’s spending priorities in times of crisis and that it is ok for the Executive Branch to cut less than what they originally promised going forward.  On top of all of this, one person receives in good faith from this bill the power to reorganize to wipe out services and missions of the government that our community has demanded.  And I truly hope that this good faith is well placed.  Despite the drama of the last few weeks, we have not achieved a real shift in priorities or true accountability.  The hard work must still be done.  It is still before those who may remain in public service and for our entire community. Regardless of the votes, I appreciate the hard work of all of my colleagues in this effort and I sincerely hope that the passage of this bill will stop the fear that is being used to propel it.  The intentional promotion of fear in our students that their teachers will be furloughed, in our retirees that their health insurance will not be paid, that ambulances are being parked for our benefit.  It is time to work harder and to face head on our vulnerable economy, our vulnerable political status, so that we can insulate those who come after us from whim and fear and unilateral priority setting for our entire community. I just want to thank my colleagues for their cooperation throughout this process and their collegiality and respect and to wish us all luck as we go forward and do the hard work.”

Watch remarks here:
Senator Terlaje Opposes Sales Tax and BPT Increase

FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE (March 4, 2018 – Hagåtña) – In response to yet another bill from the Governor for a 50% increase in Business Privilege Tax, Acting Speaker Therese M. Terlaje and the Legislative body during Special Session last night for Bill No. 1(6-S) went into the Committee of the Whole to seek answers from the Department of Administration related to the cash impact of passing the proposed tax increase immediately, and whether there would be any increase in cash upon passage of the bill that might affect the announced closing of fire and police stations.

It was confirmed by DOA that if a bill was passed last night on a BPT increase it would not yield additional cash flow until April 20th. Similarly, DOA confirmed that if Bill No. 248-34 (LS) was passed last night to implement a sales tax, it would not yield additional cash until May.

The Acting Speaker is encouraging the public’s input on the government reorganization and sales tax bills set for hearings this week, while work continues towards analysis and consensus on additional cost cutting measures and revenue enhancement strategies.

“My colleagues and I are diligently working towards consensus on additional cost cutting and revenue enhancement measures, based on facts, and are seeking community input as we move forward,” Terlaje said.

For more information, please call the Office of Vice Speaker Therese M. Terlaje at (671) 472-3586.

NR_Special Session_March 3 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE (March 3, 2018) – Acting Speaker Terlaje issued the following statement on the release of a recent opinion by the Attorney General of Guam:

“While the Legislature maintains that it works for the Governed not the Governor, I agreed to recognize Adelup’s latest call to Session out of respect for the Attorney General. Though the Legislature may consider legal action to defend this Branch against Executive overreach at another time, that decision will be made later. Without waiving the Legislature’s right to challenge the actions of the Governor, we will proceed for this special session in conformance with the Attorney General’s opinion.

I would additionally like to reiterate the prior actions by the Legislative Body in regards to the three earlier special sessions called by the Governor this week:

• Bills 248-34 (LS) and 249-34 (LS), both relative to establishing a sales tax, were referred to Committee on Finance and Taxation and have been set for a public hearing on Thursday, March 8th at 9 am.
• Bill 1(5-S), from the Governor, was also relative to a sales tax, referred to the same committee and set for public hearing on Friday, March 9th at 7 pm.

In addition to these three bills, there is also:

• Bill No. 247-34 (COR), relative to re-organizing of government priorities that will have a public hearing on Wednesday, March 7th at 10:30 am
• Two revenue enhancing bills, Bill No. 250-34 (LS) and Bill No. 251-34(LS), which were introduced on Friday, March 2nd. These bills will be referred to the appropriate committees and public hearings will be scheduled for them.

“We need to put all proposals on the table so that they can be thoroughly analyzed and discussed. I truly believe our best way forward requires us to work together, gather all of the data we have, look at every option before us, and continue seeking input from the public who will be greatly affected by our ultimate decisions.”

FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE_TMT_ MARCH 3, 2018

Buenas, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the override on Bill 58-34 (COR).

I have been a senator for exactly 5 months today. In these 5 months, the news regarding the procurement protests on the procurement process for Simon Sanchez has appeared in the PDN approximately 10 times. We have had hearings on several new ideas to redo the Simon Sanchez procurement that according to the bills, will save money and save time. The following facts should be highlighted today:

Simon Sanchez has been in the news for unsafe conditions since 2010 – I commend the courageous advocacy of teachers, principals, students and parents for bringing this to public attention. The law authorizing the rebuilding of Simon Sanchez was passed in 2013 authorizing up to $101M for Simon Sanchez and the repair of other schools. This law delegated the Superintendent of DOE, the DPW Director, DLM, GEPA, and GEDA to be the decision making authority as to how the contractor would be selected, the time period that would be demanded of the contractor, the specifications that the new school would contain, and the cost of the new school.

In 2013, the Governor authorized new offices be built for DOE at the cost of $126.3M. $126.3M is more than the $101M reserved for rebuilding Simon Sanchez, planning, repairs and completion to all the schools combined. That office building is completed and is beautiful. I invite all public school teachers to drive past that building, and then to drive further and see Tiyan High School down the street. And then to look at your own schools, be it Southern High, Simon Sanchez, GW, or Tiyan or any of the numerous middle schools that were built in the 70s or 80s or even the 90s. I am a parent, and that simple visual and the millions of dollars involved makes me furious. Yesterday a teacher from Simon Sanchez testified that she had not had textbooks for 14 years. That her classroom size exceeded the authorized limits.

Well, I would like to send a message to every teacher in the public schools on Guam: the current system of waiting, of playing along, of believing that it cannot get better or that it is not up to you, must stop. It IS up to you. The system of leaving decisions that are affecting your classrooms and your students to the administration at GDOE must end. The government has not been able to alter that political balance between the needs of teachers and politics of administration despite years of revolving superintendents, law after law changing the composition of the boards or modifying the authority of the governor over education. Do not any longer be distracted or lulled into abdicating the power you as parents and principals and teachers wield.

In the case of the rebuilding of Simon Sanchez, I have implored the GDOE management to take a stand on the rebuilding of Simon Sanchez by a faster and more cost effective means, but have been told they will not look or comment on any other proposal. They will not take ownership of the current method either, have not yet given full input as to how the new school should function, claiming they do not have sole authority over the matter or the time is not right. This is exactly the response the community received when the million dollars for Tiyan DOE offices were agreed to. No one representing you at GDOE argued that the money should go instead to remedy your classroom safety issues, or go toward books, or go toward teacher salaries.   You teachers and principals must insist that you represent yourselves and insist that your input is heard by your own management team.

And I say to you parents that if the teachers are too overwhelmed to do this for you, then please do it for your children. Tell DOE enough is enough. We are having a budget hearing on GDOE on Friday, at 10 am. Everyone is welcome. I particularly invite all the principals and parents to get copies of the GDOE budgets and ask how much is going to be allocated to remedy what you have seen first hand is wrong with your child’s school. Why were the repairs to Simon Sanchez not begun yet when the citations were in the news since 2010, and the GDOE management estimates 18 more months of construction for the new school? Do not let the only voices in attendance at GDOE meetings or legislative budget hearings represent that new offices for GDOE central staff are the priority above safe schools.

You have rightfully criticized the legislature and governor for salary raises while school conditions remain unsafe. Do not accept that the government of Guam is incompetent at fixing your school or building a new school; that the DOE, DPW and other agencies learned nothing for the building of Adacao, Liguan, Okkodo, and JFK. Help us to overcome the politics involved in this multimillion dollar procurement. Together, we can speed up the completion of the new school, we can save millions and use that instead on books, the repair of other schools, bussing, or in the creation of college scholarships. We can force GDOE to focus on hard decisions and schools first. I support the solution provided in Bill 58 for the timely and cost efficient construction of Simon Sanchez, notwithstanding the governor’s veto. Thank you.