Guam governor nixes restoration of legislative oversight over land leases

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

Gov. Lou Leon Guerero has vetoed a bill that would reinstate the legislature’s authority to scrutinize long-term land leases, describing the legislation as “anti-business.”

“As testified, individuals who wished to lease government property faced issues in securing financing for projects due to the uncertainty created by the political impact of the review process,” the governor wrote in her veto message on Bill 119-38. “Investors do not wish to be political pawns when simply trying to create a business opportunity.”

Sen. Telo Taitague, the bill’s author, vowed to move for override of the veto, which she said was “a rejection of transparency, accountability, and the people’s voice in decisions that will shape Guam’s future for generations.”

“Decisions to lease or encumber these lands for decades must be made openly, with public input, and with the consent of the elected body that represents the people,” Taitague said. 

“Bill 119-38 would have reinstated a crucial safeguard to ensure that any lease exceeding 15 years is subject to legislative review, public hearings, and full scrutiny before becoming law.”

Bill 119-38 was in response to Public Law 38-1, which repealed the legislative review requirement for leases involving public lands and facilities. The law “opened the door to sweetheart deals and backroom negotiations,” Taitague said when she introduced the bill in July.

The governor slammed the legislature for backpedaling on P.L. 38-1.

“Five members of the Republican majority, including Vice Speaker Tony

 Ada, voted to approve PL 38-1.  Now seven months later, those same five

 members of the Republican party led by Vice Speaker Ada reverse themselves, voting to once again require the legislature to approve any lease over 15 years,” the governor said.

“There was no testimony regarding how the enactment of Bill 11 9-38 would benefit anyone or that the business environment recognized at the time of the

 enactment of PL 38-1 has changed to require this amendment,” she added.

Taitague said reversing the course was meant to “correct a serious gap in public accountability” and “restore the balance of power between the branches of government.”

She argued that Public Law 38-1 facilitates more unchecked lease agreements than intended by law.

“Refining public policy when we see unintended consequences is not inconsistency; it is leadership,” Taitague said.

“The law raised the lease term limit from five to 15 years, but by repealing the provision that required legislative approval for any lease exceeding the cap, it also opened the door for contracts that could last 30, 50, even 100 years all without the scrutiny of the people’s elected representatives," she added.

The lack of legislative oversight, she added, increases the risk of misuse or quiet privatization of public property.

In response to the governor’s characterization of the bill as “anti-business,” Taitague pointed out that the measure “is pro-accountability, pro-transparency, pro-people.”

“Businesses that seek to invest in Guam in good faith should welcome oversight, because it builds trust and ensures decisions are sustainable, equitable and in the public’s best interest,” Taitague said.

“Suggesting that public review discourages investment is a false choice.”

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