FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (August 9, 2021 – Hagåtña, Guam) Speaker Therese Terlaje introduced Resolution 143-36 (LS) Friday afternoon to express support and advocate for the passage of H.R. 3730, which was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives by the Honorable Delegate Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan from the Northern Marianas Islands on June 04, 2021. The bill is co-sponsored by ten other House members, including Guam’s own Honorable Delegate Michael F.Q. San Nicholas.

H.R. 3730 proposes an Advisory Committee on United States Outlying Areas and Freely Associated States to advise the Secretary on matters relating to covered veterans, including program and services improvement. The Advisory Committee will consist of 15 voting members appointed to represent covered veterans in eight remote areas of the world, including Guam. 

The resolution is co-sponsored by Senator Jose “Pedo” Terlaje who serves as Chairperson of the Committee on Military and Veteran’s Affairs. Senator Terlaje was “honored” to co-sponsor the resolution, stating that, “Our local veterans need a seat at the table when decisions are being made by Veterans Administration.  The people of Guam are always first to volunteer to defend our country, they should be first when it comes to taking care of veterans.”

“I want to thank Honorable Delegate Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan and his co-sponsors for introducing this bill to the House,” said Speaker Terlaje. “For years I have listened to the hardships experienced by our island’s veterans. From unprocessed medical claims to understaffed facilities to Agent Orange exposure, I have advocated for our veterans, and will continue to do so which is why I have introduced this resolution. I believe that H.R. 3730 will aid in getting our veterans the representation they deserve.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (July 20, 2021 – Hagåtña, Guam) Speaker Therese Terlaje and the Committee on Land is requiring expanded benefit to Guam from the lease of submerged land and seashore for undersea fiber optic cables going forward.  Current Guam submerged land leases for fiber optic cables are inconsistently valued, and Speaker Terlaje’s Committee on Land is proposing that Guam’s lease rates be more in line with global prices. Despite a task force to diversify Guam’s economy and another one tasked to make recommendations concerning submarine cables on Guam, formal recommendations and plans from GEDA are still in the early stages.

In the meantime, Speaker Terlaje has proposed that the CLTC maintain its jurisdiction of the submerged lands in Alupang Bay, and that the previously proposed license of a corridor for submerged cables be raised to a rate of no less than $100,000 per cable per year, up to 6 cables. This is in stark contrast to the $5,000 per year currently received for the Piti submerged land lease including 4 cables, and the $15,000 originally proposed by GTA to CLTC for the lease of submerged land in Alupang Bay.

Guam is in a valuable position, serving as a U.S. law-based fiber optic cable hub for cables running from the U.S. to Asia and throughout the Pacific. “Though global data is extremely hard to find, I looked to the testimony provided at the hearing and researched California and Australia, and other places where I could access the rates global companies were being charged to hook into existing infrastructure or run submerged cables.  I think the rate of $100,000 per cable represents a much fairer amount for the people of Guam.   I want this to be a minimum baseline for similar leases going forward while Guam works to benefit even more from its position as a telecommunications hub, through the planning and development of data center and island wide telecommunication infrastructure and ensuring affordable, efficient power to support the industry,” stated Speaker Terlaje.

For example, in Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, the city invested millions to lay conduit and landing station to accommodate cable connections to global network providers and to ensure a 10Gb-a-second fibre optic network throughout the city for high speed, high performance data network to commercial strips and residents.

Speaker Terlaje’s Committee on Land today substituted and reported out a substitute version of Bill No. 36-36, which was originally introduced by Senator Joe San Agustin. Substitute Bill No. 36-36 (COR) is an Act to authorize a commercial submerged land license agreement between the government of Guam, specifically, the Chamorro Land Trust Commission, and Teleguam Holdings LLC, doing business as GTA, for the purpose of landing submarine cables at Alupang, Tamuning, Guam.” In addition to the significantly higher fees being mandated, the substitute version of the Bill would direct proceeds exclusively to the CLTC Surveying and Infrastructure Fund, and would ensure that environmental risks are avoided or mitigated through full environmental, seashore, and other permitting processes.

Speaker Terlaje stated, “I tried hard to ensure that this lease would be used to expand CLTC’s residential lease program to take care of the 8,000 who applied since 1995, and that it would not harm any coral, fish or marine mammal species or interfere with recreational activity as this is an active fishing ground and recreational area. The substitute bill requires strict permitting review and other environmental approvals.”

Please see the letter from Speaker Therese Terlaje to Senator James C. Moylan regarding his request for an Emergency Session for Bill No. 75-36 (COR).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (July 5, 2021 – Hagåtña, Guam) In response to statements made by Physicians in a meeting held today, Speaker Therese Terlaje has issued the following statement.

“We need to stick to facts, not fear. Physicians have a big voice and great influence in our community and It is truly disheartening that some of the discussion on this bill has crossed a line into threats against patients, name calling and outright misinformation.

The people of Guam deserve the facts and a safe space to have meaningful dialogue about their healthcare and their rights as patients.  I want to share the facts about the bill and to encourage everyone to watch or attend the upcoming public hearings to decide how the proposal might impact their lives or how they can contribute to the discussion productively.  I continue to welcome the doctors and patients to attend the hearings or to meet with me. 

There are several doctors who are very vocal who have canceled meetings or told me they would be in Hawaii and could not meet, while some never requested to meet with me and are demanding I “finally” meet with them.  My door remains open and I will continue to discuss this with doctors and patients.

I am trying to ensure that all in our community can participate, ask questions, and be heard.”

Bill 112-36 is intended to address those harmed by medical negligence who cannot afford approximately $40-50K for mandatory arbitration while ensuring confidential screening and protection of doctors against frivolous claims. The bill proposes to allow arbitration at reduced costs as agreed to by the parties and to enact a case screening system through a magistrate judge for those who do not agree to costly arbitration. Under the current law, costs of mandatory arbitration have deterred the filing of claims by those who cannot afford the upfront expenses, in addition to only having one year to raise the funds and file a claim.

Public Hearings on Wednesday, July 7th and Monday, July 12th at 5:00 p.m. -8:30 p.m.

Medical professionals and the public are invited to submit testimony on the bill on July 7th or July 12th at the Guam Congress Building or via Zoom. Those interested in presenting written or verbal testimony should contact the Office of Speaker Therese Terlaje at (671) 472-3586 or senatorterlajeguam@gmail.com by July 6, 2021.

All hearings will be broadcast on GTA TV Channel 21, Docomo Channel 117/112.4, and via Guam Legislature Media on Youtube. Recordings of the hearings will be available on the Guam Legislature Media YouTube Channel after the hearings.

All documents submitted relative to Bill 112-36 will be available at senatorterlaje.com. Reports on three hearings held during the 35th Guam Legislature on MMMAA can be found at https://guamlegislature.com/35th_comm_report.htm.

The bipartisan Bill 112 was sponsored by Therese M. Terlaje, Telo T. Taitague, Joanne Brown, Joe S. San Agustin, V. Anthony Ada, Telena C. Nelson, Christopher M. Duenas, Clynton E. Ridgell, Amanda L. Shelton, Jose Pedo Terlaje, and Sabina F. Perez.

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For more information, please contact Speaker Therese M. Terlaje’s office at (671) 472-3586 or via e-mail at senatorterlajeguam@gmail.com. 

*Below is the response provided to The Vigilance Committee regarding the Notice of Violation of the Open Government law from Speaker Therese Terlaje. All related documents are available for download below including the Notice of Violation, Speaker Therese Terlaje’s response, and Request for AG opinion.

May 18, 2021

Transmitted via Electronic Mail:

Lee P. Webber

President

The Vigilance Committee

414 West Soledad Avenue

Hagåtña, Guam 96910

stayvigilantgu@gmail.com

SUBJECT: Open Government Law – Meetings

Håfa Adai Mr. Webber,

Thank you for your letter dated May 18, 2021 relative to the Open Government Law.  I share your staunch advocacy for compliance with the Open Government Law and have thus made a formal request to the Attorney General to give his official opinion as to whether a violation occurred so that the Governor and Legislature can move forward accordingly.  

I would also like to take this opportunity to personally extend an invitation to you and all your committee members to participate in a series of hearings being scheduled by the Legislative Branch on the priorities for the spending of the $553 M in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds. A formal notice will be sent to you following the May legislative session, in accordance with the Open Government Law. It is our goal to prevent a repeat of the CARES Act expenditures, where the input of the Legislature and the people of Guam were largely ignored, resulting in doubt from the people of Guam as to the necessity, prudence, legality, and lack of accounting of some of the expenditures.

Guam has an unprecedented opportunity to use the ARP funds to recover, address long standing issues, and thrive. I look forward to full collaboration of all parties.

Si Yu’os Ma’åse’,

Therese M. Terlaje

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (April 30, 2021 – Hagåtña, Guam) – Please see Speaker Therese Terlaje’s extension of remarks from today’s session below. Also attached are letters sent to the Governor regarding the American Rescue Plan Act funds.

“Again, I want to thank all of my colleagues for all of their collaboration during this session. We knew we would have an abbreviated session this week due to very special events that were equally important, and I think we were able to accomplish a lot in the time that we were able to meet in session.

I believe that discussion and listening to each other is our best avenue forward, and that in hearing each other in this session hall, we also hear the people of Guam. And we will stay connected to the people of Guam through listening to each other in session debates, through our interactions at special events and even through all of our other interactions. And I hope that we will remember that most of our battles are long on Guam and that we came into this Legislature to make change, including changing hearts and minds so that people in our community can see the common ground in front of us and be united going forward.

I want to inform the public that this afternoon the Minority Leader and I sent a follow-up letter to the Governor’s request for the Legislature’s priority list for the American Rescue Plan funds. Earlier this week, we sent an initial letter requesting more information regarding what portion of the federal funds had been promised or committed to particular projects or agencies, so that we have a clearer picture of how much is available for prioritization. We have not received a response, but the Legislature is looking forward to meeting with the Governor regarding these funds, and we will be sending a listing of priorities by early next week. We want to reiterate that all of us in this Legislature are willing to meet to discuss, at the Governor’s convenience, the priorities for the people of Guam.

As we move forward, we must get as much information as possible and be able to adjust what we learn locally and federally. For example, just this morning, the U.S. Senate passed legislation regarding water utilities and infrastructure, a very important component, I think for Guam to move forward. All of these different sources of federal funds and the potential needs and current needs of the people of Guam must be examined and reconciled.

As we approach deliberations on our FY 22 budget. We want to ensure that our local funds and federal funds will be used in a fair and equitable way so that they reach all of the people of Guam, especially those in the most need. We must truly deliberate with all of the information in front of us through a good faith effort to devise a plan that will provide immediate relief and also long-term solutions that we’ve waited for so long for everyone in our community. And I thank my colleagues sincerely for their efforts in this regard.

I also want to take just a moment to thank all of the staff here at the Guam Legislature, especially the protocol office and the clerk’s office and the legal office for all of their extra efforts this week and last week, and assisting in hosting the two very special events. We thank you for your time and effort and for assisting us to be successful in our efforts. Si Yu’os Ma’ase.”

Speaker Therese Terlaje’s Extension of Remarks April Session 2021